The case against a former associate of a far-right German MP in the European Parliament began today, with the defendant accused of espionage for Chinese intelligence, DPA reported, BTA reported.
According to prosecutors, the accused has worked for the Chinese secret services since 2002.
German citizen Jiang G. worked as an associate of Maximilian Kra, a member of the "Alternative for Germany" party (AfG), who was an MEP from 2019 to 2025.
Jiang G. is accused of collecting intelligence and confidential documents and passing them on to China while working for Kra from September 2019 to April 2024, when he was arrested. He is also accused of collecting information on leading AfG politicians and spying on Chinese dissidents.
At the start of the trial, which is being held in Dresden, Jiang G.'s lawyer rejected the charges and said that his client never agreed to hand over information.
Jiang G. was a dedicated employee whose work was mostly related to foreign trade, the lawyer said. Given his background and language skills, his responsibilities also included relations with China, and he also conducted negotiations on this occasion, the lawyer added. It is not excluded that the people he spoke to had connections with Chinese intelligence, he explained.
The other defendant, Chinese citizen Tzaqi X., is accused of helping Jiang G..
At the time, he worked for a logistics company at the German airport in Leipzig and is alleged to have repeatedly provided Jiang G. with information about flights, cargo and passengers - especially when it came to the transport of defense equipment.
The court in Dresden has scheduled 13 dates for hearings in the case until the end of September.
Opinions about Maximilian Kra, who is currently a member of the German parliament, are mixed even within his own party, DPA notes. He is also under investigation for alleged bribery from China and money laundering during his time in the European Parliament. He denies the charges.
Kra was among the AfD's leading candidates in last year's European elections, but his campaign was marred by scandal. The AfD was expelled from the "Identity and Democracy" group in the 9th European Parliament in Brussels after Kra made a controversial statement to an Italian newspaper defending members of the Nazi paramilitary organization "Schutzstaffel". The party then expelled him from its delegation to the EP.