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Man gets six years for selling missile material to Iran

A Koblenz court sentenced a 63-year-old businessman to six years in prison on Monday after confessing to selling materials that could be used in missiles to Iran.

Published: 11 May 2009 15:23 CEST

Man gets six years for selling missile material to Iran

Photo: Beate Wätzel Fotodesign

Judges heard how the man sold 16 tonnes of high-grade graphite that authorities suspect went to the Iranian weapons programme via Turkey between 2005 and 2007. Turkish border police uncovered another two attempted shipments at the border.

During transport, the graphite in question was camouflaged under a blanket of low-grade graphite in mislabelled containers.

Further, courts ruled the man must give his €705,000 in sales profits to the state. Neither the defence or the federal prosecutors office will appeal the sentence.

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Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

The man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

On the website of the European Parliament, Jian Guo is listed as an accredited assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the far-right AfD party’s lead candidate in the forthcoming EU-wide elections.

He is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Krah in Brussels since 2019.

The suspect “is an employee of a Chinese secret service”, prosecutors said.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.

“He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.”

The suspect was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday and his homes were searched, they added.

The accused lives in both Dresden and Brussels, according to broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR, who broke the news about the arrest.

The AfD said the allegations were “very disturbing”.

“As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors,” party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf said in a statement.

The case is likely to fuel concern in the West about aggressive Chinese espionage.

It comes after Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.

READ ALSO: Germany arrests three suspected of spying for China

China’s embassy in Berlin “firmly” rejected the allegations, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

According to German media, the two cases are not connected.

In Britain on Monday, two men were charged with handing over “articles, notes, documents or information” to China between 2021 and last year.

Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.

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