politics
Several Suspected Espionage Cases in Northern Norway
In May, a Chinese citizen was arrested in Norway, and is alleged to have attempted to map military activity in Bodø. The incident followed the arrest of a Chinese woman on Andøya earlier in the month. The Police has not confirmed any connection between the two cases.
Published
Modified
On May 7th, Norway's Police Security Service (PST) arrested a Chinese citizen on Andøya in Northern Norway on espionage allegations.
As HNN previously reported, the suspect was identified as a Chinese woman, and is suspected of complicity in an attempted act of serious intelligence activity against state secrets.
In connection with the arrest, PST also carried out searches at two premises in Norway. One of the houses is located on Andøya in Nordland, while the other is in Innlandet in southern parts of the country.
Two others persons have also been charged in connection with the case.
Pre-trial detention extended
"PST is still in an initial phase of the investigation after a Chinese citizen was arrested on Thursday May 7 on Andøya. PST has secured some evidence material which we are now reviewing in order to clarify the case and the basis for suspicion."
This was stated by Police Inspector Nina Bakken of PST to High North News on Friday in an update of the case.
Furthermore, Bakken stated that the accused has been questioned and that the basis for suspicion remains unchanged.
At the remand hearing at Oslo District Court on Friday, it also became clear that the pre-trial detention of the accused woman is being extended by four weeks. She is subject to monitoring of correspondence and visits.
The Chinese national has been in pre-trial detention since May 8th.
Container in the Port of Oslo
According to a statement from PST, the operation was launched on the suspicion that a Norwegian-registered company is operating as a front for a Chinese state actor’s “attempt to establish a receiver for satellite downloads from satellites in polar orbits suited for collecting data that could harm fundamental Norwegian interests if it becomes known to a foreign state”.
The prosecuting authority seized the satellite receiver in question and writes that they thus have, for the time being, stopped further plans to install it and put it into operation, the PST said.
The satellite receiver weighs 22 tonnes and was located in a container in the Port of Oslo, Aftenposten reported, among others. Police prosecutor Thomas Blom told the newspaper that they believe the receiver was intended for use on Andøya.
High North News has asked Elise Øraker, the Chinese woman's lawyer, for a comment on the case and the decision to extend her pre-trial detention.
Øraker says her client does not admit criminal guilt in the case, and that the ruling must now be reviewed before a decision can be made on any possible appeal.
Increased intelligence activity
High North News has previously reported on how Andøya is a target for foreign intelligence.
The island of Andøya is home to the aerospace company Andøya Space and subsidiary Andøya Spaceport, and is an important European aerospace hub and launch site.
Andøya Air Station is a military air station that is also important in connection with host nation support in the High North.
Both the Norwegian Intelligence Service and PST are clear about the intelligence threat from Russia and China in their annual open threat assessments, and point out that the High North and the Arctic are of particular interest to both countries.
Several cases
On May 15, a Chinese man was also arrested, suspected of attempted illegal intelligence activity in Northern Norway.
The man is alleged to have stayed in a bunker near the military section of the airport in Bodø.
PST has previously stated that there was no information indicating any connection between the case in Bodø and the case related to Andøya.
"The charge concerns attempted illegal intelligence activity against state secrets, and it is related to the accused having stayed in a bunker near Bodø air station for some time," police prosecutor Kathrine Tonstad of the PST told news agency NTB, as reported, among others, by The National Defence Magazine (Forsvarets Forum).
She explains that Bodø air station consists of both a military and a civilian section. The military section includes NATO's newest regional air operations centre (CAOC).
"The investigation will seek to establish whether the accused has attempted to obtain information linked to the military part of Bodø air station and, if so, for what purpose," Tonstad adds.
The man's lawyer, Tor Haug, told the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) that his client denies guilt.
"He does not admit criminal guilt. He did not do so during questioning, nor in court today [18 May, ed. note]," Haug told NRK.
"He admits to having been in Bodø and to having had accommodation in Bodø," Haug replies when asked whether his client admits to having stayed in the bunker.
The man was remanded in custody for four weeks.
