German authorities arrest AfD-linked Chinese spy for allegedly leaking military flight details

A Chinese national linked to a former far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party staffer was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of espionage, German authorities said.

According to the federal public prosecutor's office, the suspect — identified only as Yaqi X — worked for a logistics company servicing Leipzig airport and took advantage of her position to obtain information on "the transport of military equipment and persons with connections to a German arms company."

She is accused of then sharing this information with a former staffer to a far-right German MEP who has already been accused of spying on behalf of China.

The defendant in question has been identified only as Jian G and worked as a staffer for AfD's Maximilian Krah.

They are said to have passed on information about “negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament” and monitored Chinese dissidents within Germany on behalf of Beijing's intelligence services.

Krah has insisted he has no knowledge of any spying in his office, and was re-elected on the AfD slate in this summer's European Parliament elections despite his office having been raided by police.