Employee of German EU lawmaker detained as suspected China spy

DPA
·1 min read
Maximilian Krah, Alternative for Germany (AfD) lead candidate for the European elections, speaks at a rally organized by his party on Schlossplatz. An employee of a German member of the European Parliament, lawmaker Maximilian Krah, has been detained in Dresden on suspicion of spying for China, according to security sources. Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
Maximilian Krah, Alternative for Germany (AfD) lead candidate for the European elections, speaks at a rally organized by his party on Schlossplatz. An employee of a German member of the European Parliament, lawmaker Maximilian Krah, has been detained in Dresden on suspicion of spying for China, according to security sources. Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
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An employee of a German member of the European Parliament, lawmaker Maximilian Krah, has been detained in Dresden on suspicion of spying for China, according to security sources.

Federal prosecutors reported the arrest in Dresden on Tuesday, without naming Krah. The suspect is said to have passed on information from the European Parliament to China, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the suspect was detained by police in Dresden, in the state of Saxony on Monday.

The accused's flats were searched. According to the statement, he is accused of acting as an agent for a foreign secret service.

Several German media outlets also reported that the suspect is an employee of Krah, who is the leading candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June.

Krah was initially unavailable for comment.

The announcement comes a day after three Germans were arrested in the western German cities of Dusseldorf and Bad Homburg on suspicion of spying for the Chinese secret service.