Chinese national charged with espionage in Norway held in solitary confinement

A Chinese woman charged with involvement in espionage against Norway will be held in pre-trial detention for four weeks, with full isolation for the first two weeks and a ban on visits and correspondence for the entire period, Dagbladet reports.

The woman was arrested on Thursday at Andøya in Nordland county and formally charged by Norway’s Police Security Service (PST). According to PST prosecutor Thomas Blom, she is one of three individuals—alongside a company and its owner—accused of participating in an attempt to conduct “serious intelligence operations against state secrets.”

“We have detained a Chinese citizen on Andøya,” Blom told reporters outside Oslo District Court. “She, along with several others, is charged with complicity in an attempt to engage in serious intelligence activities targeting state secrets.” He confirmed that PST believes some of the suspects are currently in China.

The company involved, which claims to operate in the krill industry, is also under suspicion. Blom noted that its stated business activities—commercial krill fishing—are typically conducted in the Southern Ocean, not in northern Norway. “They are, so to speak, at the wrong pole,” he said.

PST has seized a 22-ton mobile satellite receiver, intercepted in Oslo Harbour on 17 April, which investigators believe was intended for installation on Andøya. Blom stated that while the equipment could theoretically receive weather data, its actual or intended use made the operation illegal. “We believe a state actor is behind this, disguised as a Norwegian-registered company ultimately owned in Singapore,” he said.

The woman, who has no significant ties to Norway beyond the company’s property on Andøya, was transported to Oslo after her arrest. Blom described the detention as proceeding “without incident” and confirmed she had consented to procedural hearings through her defence lawyer.

PST has not ruled out further arrests in the case, which originated from a tip-off by the agency’s preventive division. Blom emphasised that while the satellite antenna itself may appear legal, its “use or intended use” constituted a criminal offence under Norwegian law.