AfD Ex‑Aide Sentenced for Spying for China

A Dresden court on Tuesday sentenced Jian Guo to four years and nine months for acting as an agent for a Chinese intelligence service while serving as a Brussels-based aide to AfD MEP Maximilian Krah between 2019 and 2024. Judges found Guo supplied confidential EU documents and intelligence on European affairs, AfD lawmakers and Chinese dissidents to Beijing; prosecutors said he had worked for Chinese intelligence since 2002 and had sought a 7½-year term. Co-defendant Yaqi X. received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months after admitting she passed flight schedules and cargo details from a Leipzig airport logistics firm, including information on military movements. Krah, now a member of the Bundestag, says he was unaware of the spying, calls himself a victim and says he tightened office security, but he is separately under investigation and has had his parliamentary immunity lifted amid allegations of money‑laundering and payments linked to companies close to Guo. The convictions have intensified concern about Chinese espionage in Germany and the vulnerability of parliamentary staff, while Beijing has denied involvement.