The Norwegian charged with espionage sat together with Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide as deputy on the board of a local team in the Oslo Labor Party. The local team itself states on its website that it has frequent meetings with key experts and politicians. Oslo Ap informs news that the foreign minister and the man accused of spying have not attended board meetings together in the local team in question. Beyond that, they do not wish to comment on the matter. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not want to say anything either, and refers to PST. Researcher believes the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is central On Monday, the man in his 30s was arrested at Gardermoen after a trip to China. He is now in custody, charged with attempted gross intelligence activities against state secrets. The man denies that he is an agent for China. CHARGE: The man in his 30s was remanded in custody for four weeks on Tuesday. He says he is innocent. Photo: news Researcher Anders Romarheim says the man accused of spying does not need to have access to sensitive information to be of interest to intelligence. He says China wants to recruit broadly and for the long term. – It is the foreign agents who choose Ap, not Ap who chooses them. If you stand outside and want to plant these seeds, which will grow into sensitive positions, then the Ap eagle is a well-suited place to place an agent. – The same applies to the Conservative Party and their foreign policy top people, such as Ine Eriksen Søreide, says Romarheim, who is associate professor and head of the Center for International Security at the Department of Defense Studies. MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Espen Barth Eide sat as a deputy on the same board as the spy-accused, but they have not attended board meetings together, the Labor Party states. Photo: Johanna Hauge / news Romarheim thinks China finds it interesting to have contact with a person who is in the same local team as Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the most sought-after intelligence targets. Norway is a key state and premise supplier in the Arctic, China is interested in this, he says. – Sow many seeds Romarheim says on a general basis that young people with ambitions are sought after by the intelligence service in China. – China in the intelligence world is known for quantity, large volume. There are many people they are trying to influence. People who get to study at large universities will often get some feelers from the security services, says Romarheim, associate professor and head of the Center for International Security at the Department of Defense Studies. What parliamentary representatives think about various foreign policy matters will be of interest to foreign intelligence. – China has a tremendous appetite for information about the outside world, just as the Western countries have a growing interest in China, he begins. – He is probably interesting to them because he is involved in foreign policy and security policy circles and is young and committed. It is common for intelligence to sow many seeds and hope that people grow into important positions with sensitive information in the long run. Many contacts The accused man in his 30s was born in Norway and grew up in Oslo. He has previously been sentenced to community punishment in a minor case. He has foreign family and kinship background, but not from China. The man has been active in several political circles, particularly forums related to security policy. Sources tell news that he has an ability to make contacts quickly. He was active in a local Labor Party team. Among other things, they went on a study trip to Berlin to study Norwegian-German defense cooperation. He has also previously written reader posts and guest articles in various publications related to such topics. Without income The man’s spending has been a topic in the investigation, news is informed. He has been without income since 2016. According to his Linkedin profile, he returned to Norway in 2020 after studying in China. news does not know whether the man has been listed with income or assets in 2024. Defendant: No agent for China PST says that the investigation so far shows that the man had the information intended for Chinese intelligence. They will not go into more detail about what this information is about. – He is innocent of what he is accused of. He is no spy for China. He does not work for foreign intelligence, says the man’s defender Marius Dietrichson to news. – How does he explain his interest in foreign policy and international relations? – This is a person who works with international politics, and who also has an education in that field. In this sense, he has a certain understanding that the security authorities are forward-looking in this matter, and that they are wary of foreign intelligence activity in Norway. But he has no understanding that he himself is accused of it now, he replies. The detention order states that the police must secure the contents of several computer devices. – There is an ongoing investigation. Beyond that, I don’t want to say anything more now, says senior advisor Eirik Veum in PST to news on Thursday. China’s embassy rejects China’s embassy writes in a reply to news on Tuesday evening that they have taken note of the matter. They deny the accusations of espionage. – Recently, there have been cases where some European countries have fabricated and hyped up so-called “Chinese spy cases” to slander and slander China. We strongly oppose such actions. – Some services in Norway have repeatedly made irresponsible accusations without providing concrete facts and have propagated the threat from China, which has destroyed the normal cooperation climate between China and Norway, writes the Chinese embassy to news. Published 04/07/2024, at 19.35
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The spy agency sat on the same board as the foreign minister – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
