Jian Guo, a German citizen formerly employed by a prominent far-right Member of the European Parliament (MEP), was convicted on Tuesday of espionage for China, a matter that has drawn significant attention in the media, according to the German news agency dpa.
Guo was accused of collaborating with a Chinese intelligence service and of transmitting sensitive information related to the European Parliament over a period extending from September 2019 until his arrest in April 2024. Guo was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison, as reported by dpa. During a recent court hearing, Mr Guo denied any involvement in illicit activities.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry has previously characterised reports of espionage in Europe as efforts to discredit China. In addition to his actions within the European Parliament, Guo was also reported to have monitored Chinese dissidents residing in Germany. He gathered intelligence on prominent members of the right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
In compliance with privacy regulations, the federal prosecutor referred to him as Jian G. However, his former employer, Maximilian Krah, who serves as a lawmaker, had publicly identified Guo during the trial. Krah testified that he was unaware of his former aide’s activities, as reported by dpa.
Earlier this month, the German parliament decided to lift Krah’s parliamentary immunity in response to allegations suggesting that he may have had connections to China, as well as involvement in corruption and espionage scandals. This step was necessary for legal authorities to proceed with prosecution, which included conducting searches of his home and offices under a court order. Krah has denied wrongdoing and claims that these allegations are politically motivated.
Notably, last year, the AfD barred Krah from participating in EU elections after he made remarks in an Italian newspaper suggesting that not all members of the Nazi elite SS unit, implicated in significant war crimes during World War II, should be classified as war criminals. These remarks irritated the leader of the far-right Identity and Democracy group, Marine Le Pen, leading to the expulsion of the AfD from her group in the European Parliament in April 2024. Despite this, he successfully won a seat in the German parliament earlier this year.
