A former assistant to far-right Alternative for Germany politician Maximilian Krah faces trial in Dresden Tuesday over alleged China espionage.
Prosecutors accuse the man, identified as Jian G., of being employed by Chinese intelligence services since 2002. He was allegedly tasked with collecting information and files from the European Parliament while serving as an assistant to Krah, who was an EU lawmaker between 2019 and 2024. He now represents Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in the German Bundestag.
Jian G. allegedly shared confidential documents with the Chinese authorities, collected personal information on AfD leadership and spied on Chinese opposition figures and dissidents.
German prosecutors have also charged an apparent accomplice, Jaqi X., who worked for a logistics company at Leipzig airport in Germany. She is suspected of providing Jian G. with information about flights, cargo, and passengers — in particular, on the transportation of military equipment and people linked to a German arms company.
Jian G. was arrested in April 2024 and has remained in pretrial detention, while Jaqi X. has been in pretrial detention since September 2024.
Krah, who was AfD’s top candidate for last year’s European election, is himself subject to a separate investigation over allegations that he accepted payments from Russia and China during his work as a member of the European Parliament.
Krah denied having any knowledge of his erstwhile assistant’s activities and said he was “deceived.” He will testify in Jian G.’s trial as a witness.
The trial will continue until the end of September, with further hearings planned for this week.
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