An intern who worked at Nato’s military headquarters has been arrested on espionage charges.
The woman, a Canadian citizen of Chinese origin, is accused of spying “on behalf of a third country” and belonging to an unnamed “criminal organisation”, prosecutors said.
She worked as an intern at Nato’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (Shape) in the Belgian city of Mons.
The site is the base of Allied Command Operations, which is responsible for planning and carrying out the operations of the 32-member transatlantic alliance.
The woman was detained after coming to the attention of its security services, who reported her to Belgian intelligence officials. Federal judicial police in Charleroi carried out searches at the suspect’s home and workplace last Thursday.
The woman’s name, what country she was allegedly working for, the criminal organisation she is said to have belonged to, and the nature of her alleged spying have not been revealed.
Nato operations unaffected
A spokesman said there was no indication that Nato’s operational readiness, command and control arrangements or ongoing tasks had been affected.
“Shape continues to fulfil its responsibilities without interruption,” he said.
Canada is a founding member of Nato, having signed the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949 alongside Britain, the United States, Belgium, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.
China has a vast global spy network and is thought to have the biggest and best-funded intelligence machine in the world.
In September, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service was forced to drop charges against two alleged spies when the Government failed to provide evidence that China was a national security threat.
Christopher Berry and Christopher Cash were accused of collecting intelligence on Parliament’s China hawks and United Kingdom government policy on Beijing, before passing it to a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party. They denied wrongdoing.
In January, the Telegraph revealed that China hacked the mobile phones of senior officials in Downing Street for several years. The spying operation is understood to have compromised senior government members, exposing their private communications to Beijing.
A Shape spokesman said the headquarters was providing “full co-operation and assistance to the Belgian authorities” and refused to comment on specific allegations.
“Nato remains fully committed to protecting Allied personnel, safeguarding classified information, and maintaining the trust and security upon which the Alliance depends,” he added.
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