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| Former aide to far-right German politician jailed for spying for China | Former aide to far-right German politician jailed for spying for China |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Jian Guo (R) had denied spying for China during his trial | Jian Guo (R) had denied spying for China during his trial |
| An aide who worked for a leading member of Germany's far-right AfD party has been given a jail term of four years and nine months for spying for China. | An aide who worked for a leading member of Germany's far-right AfD party has been given a jail term of four years and nine months for spying for China. |
| Jian Guo had worked in Brussels for Maximilian Krah, a member of the European Parliament for five years until last year. Krah is now an MP in the German parliament. | Jian Guo had worked in Brussels for Maximilian Krah, a member of the European Parliament for five years until last year. Krah is now an MP in the German parliament. |
| The court in Dresden in eastern Germany had heard how Krah's former aide had gathered information and passed on confidential documents to Chinese authorities. | |
| Jian Guo had maintained his innocence, insisting he had not worked for Chinese intelligence, and Krah told the court last month he had only learned about allegations against his ex-employee from the media. | Jian Guo had maintained his innocence, insisting he had not worked for Chinese intelligence, and Krah told the court last month he had only learned about allegations against his ex-employee from the media. |
| The defendant, a German national, was accused by prosecutors of working for Chinese intelligence since 2002, in a case that fuelled concerns about China's spy activities in the European Union. | |
| He had also been accused of spying on Chinese dissidents and opposition figures in Germany. | |
| The court in Dresden said it was a particularly serious case, although in his final statement Jian Guo told the trial last week: "I did not work for a Chinese intelligence agency and I am innocent." | |
| Jian Guo was alleged to have acted as a handler for a Chinese national working for a logistics company at Leipzig airport who was given a suspended jail term. The woman, identified a Yaqi X, was accused of providing data on cargo, flights and passengers. | |
| Reacting to his former aide's jail term, Krah told news agency DPA that "immediately after the arrest I took the necessary action and significantly increased security in my office". |