Norwegian man charged with espionage remanded for additional custody in Oslo

On Tuesday, a Norwegian man in his thirties, who is charged with attempting to conduct serious intelligence operations on behalf of China, was remanded in custody for an additional four weeks. Prior to the custody hearing, the Police Security Service (PST) stated that the evidence against the man has strengthened.

The man’s lawyer, Marius Dietrichson, maintains that his client was not engaged in intelligence work but rather operated a center focusing on political analysis. He argues that his client’s contacts with various actors and states were part of his professional duties.

The court’s custody ruling indicates that there remain grounds to suspect the man of serious espionage activities, though it also suggests the basis for suspicion is not “particularly strong.” The individual was arrested at Oslo Airport on July 1 while returning from a trip to China. Since then, new developments have emerged in the case.

The ruling reveals a new report dated July 25, which indicates that seized materials included chat messages between the accused and a suspected handler in China. Such a handler is responsible for overseeing agents within an intelligence service. The report further notes the existence of chats that appear to be discussions about assignments. Dietrichson refrained from commenting on the content of the ruling, stating he is unable to share his thoughts on the matter.

Although PST has conducted several witness interviews, the ruling highlights that many potential witnesses remain uncontacted, as new information may emerge from the confiscated materials. So far, approximately 20 witnesses have yet to be interviewed by the police. The defense emphasizes that the man is not charged with having disclosed intelligence information, and there is no evidence suggesting he has gathered or handed over classified details.