A Canadian woman who interned at NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium has been taken into custody on accusations of espionage, Belgian prosecutors announced on Saturday.
“She is suspected of spying on behalf of a third country and of being a member of a criminal organization,” the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
The woman served as an intern at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) located in the Belgian city of Mons, according to officials. The prosecutor’s office identified her as a Canadian citizen with Chinese roots but did not disclose her name or any additional details about her identity. They also did not clarify which third country or criminal organization she is allegedly associated with.
“As the matter remains under investigation, we are not in a position to comment on specifics at this time,” Public Safety Canada said in an email to on Saturday.
“Canadians can be assured that all Government of Canada law enforcement and intelligence agencies maintain strong relationships with partner agencies that assist in addressing threat-related activity like those described in relation to the arrest made in Belgium on Thursday.”
has also reached out to Belgium’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office for more information.
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Home, workplace searched
SHAPE is NATO’s primary military headquarters and serves as the base for Allied Command Operations, responsible for planning and executing all operations for the 32-member transatlantic security alliance. The suspect had drawn attention from SHAPE’s security services, which then alerted Belgian intelligence officials, according to their statement. LISTEN | Canada’s relationship with NATO: Just Asking59:35Footing the NATO bill: What Canada’s growing defence budget actually buys you Canada went to this week’s NATO summit in Turkey promising to allocate 5 percent of its GDP towards defense by 2035. But what do NATO and Canada’s military strategy really mean for daily life in Canada? Lieutenant General the Honorable Andrew Leslie is a retired commander of the Canadian Army and former MP. Alexander Lanoszka is an associate professor in the department of political science at the University of Waterloo. Investigators conducted searches at both her home and workplace at SHAPE before placing her under arrest on Friday. A SHAPE spokesperson mentioned there was no evidence suggesting that NATO or SHAPE operational readiness, command and control arrangements, or ongoing tasks had been impacted. “SHAPE continues to fulfil its responsibilities without interruption.” The prosecutor’s office stated it would refrain from further comments while investigations continue.Source link
