Mons, Belgium. A Canadian woman of Chinese origin accused of espionage while working as an intern at NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium will remain in pretrial custody for another month, the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office said on Tuesday.
The woman is suspected of espionage on behalf of a third country and membership in a criminal organisation. She has 24 hours to appeal the decision.
Investigation
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office declined to provide further details about the suspect.
A security source identified her as Claire Z, a woman in her 30s who was not a student. According to the source, she worked in the IT department at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, known as SHAPE, in Mons.
The source said she was close to completing her internship, leading authorities to accelerate the investigation.
Security screening
Neither NATO nor Belgian authorities have specified the nature of the suspect’s work at NATO.
Security checks for interns are the responsibility of their countries of origin, which in this case was Canada. The Canadian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said during a briefing on Monday that Canada would continue examining its procedures and security screening.
“In this particular case, I think it’s important to get to the bottom of what happened,” Anandasangaree said.
