Six suspected spies have been arrested in quick succession. Security services see links to the war against Ukraine, economic interests and a war on democracy.
The press office of Germany’s Federal Prosecutor is a hive of activity these days: “Arrest for suspected secret service agent activity” — read the headline of a press release from April 23, 2024. A press release from the day before had exactly the same headline.
All four suspects — three men and one woman — are alleged to have spied for China.
“We must finally understand that this is a very serious and very real threat to our security,” said Green Party lawmaker Konstantin von Notz who heads the Parliamentary Control Committee for the Intelligence Services in the lower house, the Bundestag.
“We must act quickly and decisively both through criminal prosecution and by uncovering the structures and networks,” he added.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
“We must finally understand that this is a very serious and very real threat to our security,” said Green Party lawmaker Konstantin von Notz who heads the Parliamentary Control Committee for the Intelligence Services in the lower house, the Bundestag.
“We initiated these investigations, and once the evidence was clear, we were able to hand this case over to the police and the public prosecutors,” Thomas Haldenwang, president of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, told DW.
“We must not be naive in our dealings with China,” said German Minister for Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, adding: "What is needed is an “even more critical weighing up of risks and benefits in cooperation, especially in science and universities.”
Tuesday’s arrest of a suspected Chinese agent, however, highlights the field of politics rather than science or business: Jian G. was a close associate of Maximilian Krah, the lead candidate of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the European elections in June 2024.
The far-right AfD, which is being monitored nationwide by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected extremist party, has also repeatedly been accused of having close ties with Russia.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has described the unprecedented arrest of six suspected spies within six days as a success: "Our security authorities, above all the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, have massively strengthened counter-espionage measures.
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