Norway Arrests Chinese Citizen Suspected of Being a Spy

According to AFP, PST media spokesperson Eirik Veum stated that the suspect was arrested on Friday (12 May) by police in the Nordland district.

Veum said the man is suspected of carrying out “illegal intelligence activities in Nordland”, but declined to provide further details about the alleged activities.

On Sunday (17 May), a Norwegian court ordered the suspect to be detained for four weeks.

The suspect’s lawyer, Tor Haug, told news agency NTB that his client denies the allegations.

Previously, on 7 May, PST announced that a Chinese woman suspected of spying on Norwegian satellite data had been arrested.

The arrest was “based on the suspicion that a company registered in Norway was used as a front by Chinese state actors to set up a receiving station to download data from satellites in polar orbit,” prosecutor Thomas Blom of the PST police told AFP at the time.

PST also said that other individuals were suspected in the case.

Norwegian intelligence agencies routinely cite China and Russia as major threats to Norway in terms of espionage.

In its latest threat assessment report, PST said that both countries have shown interest in buying land near critical infrastructure or military installations. (aik/aik)