Norwegian Man Accused of Espionage for China Appears in Court

The Norwegian flag flutters on the roadside of Longyearbyen's main street on Spitsbergen island, in Svalbard Archipelago, northern Norway, on May 9, 2022. Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP via Getty Images

An Oslo court has ordered the detention of a Norwegian citizen accused of attempting to spy for China, Norway’s domestic security agency said on July 2—the latest in a string of communist regime-related espionage cases across Europe in recent months.

The man, whose identity has yet to be disclosed, appeared in an Oslo court on July 2, and will be held for an initial four weeks, according to the Norwegian Security Police Service (PST).

Thomas Blom, a spokesperson for PST’s counter-espionage unit, said the case is still in its early stage, and that the service won’t be disclosing many additional details at this time.

The suspect, described only as a “well-known” individual, was arrested by PST on July 1 at Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport upon his return from a trip to China, according to officials.

Mr. Blom said the closed-door trial is based on “attempted” espionage activities for China, with “data-carrying devices” being “particularly relevant” as evidence in the case.

If convicted, the male Norwegian citizen could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The man will plead not guilty, according to defense lawyer Marius Dietrichson.

The Chinese embassy in Oslo said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times on July 3 that some European countries have “fabricated and hyped up” issues, without commenting on this specific case.

The recent arrest aligns with Oslo’s prediction that Beijing will pose an intelligence threat.

In its latest annual assessment report, PST predicted that China will be “a significant intelligence threat” this year, and that the service expects the threat “to increase in the years ahead.”

This assessment attributes the threat to a worsening relationship between China and the liberal rules-based order, the communist regime’s ambition for greater control over supply chains, and its strategic positioning in the Arctic.

It also mentioned that CCP intelligence and influence operations in Norway are mainly conducted through “intermediaries,” including Chinese state-owned and private enterprises, organizations, academic institutions, and think tanks.

Furthermore, “Chinese intelligence services recruit Norwegian nationals in an effort to gain access to sensitive and classified information,” the report reads. “We expect this to continue in 2024.”

In recent months, several instances of Beijing’s international spying activities have been unveiled, highlighting the broader apprehensions in the West and their allied Asian nations regarding the potential impacts on national security.

In April, three German nationals in separate espionage-related cases were arrested, a week before an aide to an EU parliament was met with similar charges.

On May 13, three men were charged in the United Kingdom with spying for the Hong Kong government.

In March,  the United States and Britain accused Beijing of cyberespionage targeting millions of individuals and the UK electoral system. Canada also issued a rare public warning in June, highlighting CCP’s escalating cyber threat.

Last October, the UK’s chief spy reported that CCP agents had attempted to gather information from at least 20,000 British citizens through websites like LinkedIn.

In 2022, Safeguard Defenders, a human rights organization based in Spain, disclosed that the CCP has established over a hundred overseas so-called “police stations” in 53 countries.

This includes 10 European countries: Ireland, The Netherlands, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy,France, Spain, UK and Greece.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.