Two former intelligence agents have gone on trial in Paris for allegedly passing on state secrets to China, according to reports.
The two men, known only as Henry M and Pierre-Marie H, are each facing 15 years in prison if convicted of charges of “delivering information to a foreign power” and “damaging the fundamental interests of the nation”, The Telegraph reports.
The former was the Beijing station chief for the General Directorate for External Security (DGSE), France’s equivalent to MI6, but “was dismissed from the intelligence service and sent home in 1997 after only a few months” for starting a relationship with the French ambassador’s Chinese interpreter, says The Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Henry M, now 74, retired a few years later and returned to China in 2003, where he married the interpreter and set up a British-registered business called HM China.
The other accused former spy, 68-year-old Pierre-Marie H, was allegedly recruited by Beijing when he was approaching retirement and looking for extra income. He was arrested at Zurich Airport in December 2017 after arriving from Sri Lanka carrying more than €25,000 in cash.
No information explaining a link between the two men has been revealed as yet. But a former colleague of the pair told Paris-based news magazine that they believed “Henri M betrayed out of love and began working with the Chinese. He would appear to have served as liaison agent with Pierre-Marie H and his import-export business justified his travels.”
The wife of Pierre-Marie, Laurence H, is also going on trial accused of “concealment of property derived from intelligence with a foreign power likely to harm the fundamental interests of the nation”.
Because of the highly sensitive nature of the case, the trial opened behind closed doors, and the court will be “made up exclusively of professional magistrates”, says France24.
The verdict is due to be handed down on 10 July.
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
The rise of the spymaster: a ‘tectonic shift’ in Ukraine’s politicsIn the Spotlight President Zelenskyy’s new chief of staff, former head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov, is widely viewed as a potential successor
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
