Norwegian citizen arrested on suspicion of spying for China
- Norway’s domestic security agency, PST, has arrested a Norwegian citizen suspected of spying for China.
- The suspect is well-known and believed the information he had was destined for Chinese intelligence.
- The suspect’s lawyer, Marius Dietrichson, denies being an agent for China and intends to plead not guilty.
Norway’s domestic security agency said on Tuesday that they had arrested a Norwegian citizen on suspicion of attempting to spy for China, declining to give details about the case.
“We are in an initial phase. Therefore we are rather tight-lipped now. We are not going to give many details in the case,” said Thomas Blom, a prosecutor with the security agency, known by its Norwegian initials PST.
He spoke after remanding the suspect, identified only as a man, in custody for four weeks on suspicion of serious intelligence activities involving state secrets.
“It is a matter of national security,” Blom said. The man was arrested Monday morning at the Oslo International Airport “after having been in China,” the prosecutor said. The arrest was undramatic, he said.
The suspect “is well-known,” Blom said, declining to give more details. He added: “We believe the information (he had) was destined for Chinese intelligence.” He didn’t identify any Chinese agency.
If found guilty, the man could face up to 10 years in jail.
The suspect’s lawyer, Marius Dietrichson, informed The Associated Press that his client denies being an agent for China and intends to plead not guilty.
In its annual threat assessment, the Norwegian domestic security service said that China “will be a significant intelligence threat in 2024.”
“This is due in particular to the deterioration in the relationship between China and the West, China’s desire for more control over supply chains, and positioning in the Arctic,” said the assessment, which was published in February. PST also said that the intelligence threat from China was ”significant.”
In the past, relations between Oslo and Beijing have been tense.
In 2017, then Norway’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, visited China as part of efforts to restore full contact between the two countries. Beijing had previously frozen out Oslo over the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to an imprisoned Chinese dissident seven years earlier. Despite Norway’s government having no say over the Nobel panel’s choices, China suspended a bilateral trade deal and imposed restrictions on imports of Norwegian salmon.
In recent years, Norway has uncovered other suspected foreign intelligence activity within the country.
In 2022, Norway arrested an academic who worked as a lecturer at the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsoe. He had entered Norway under the guise of being a Brazilian citizen but was suspected of spying for one of Russia’s intelligence agencies. The individual, Jose Assis Giammaria, confirmed his real name as Mikhail Mikushin. He had arrived in Norway in 2021 and researched the northern regions and hybrid threats. Norway’s Arctic border with Russia spans 198 kilometers (123 miles).
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