A Canadian national of Chinese origin has until later today to appeal a decision that placed her in one-month pretrial custody after being arrested for allegedly spying for a foreign power at a major NATO base in Belgium, a spokesperson for the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office (FPO) told Euronews on Wednesday.
Canadian television network CTV reported that the individual was denied bail on Tuesday during a closed-door pretrial hearing.
While there have been no public political comments regarding the charges laid against the intern accused of spying while at NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in the Belgian city of Mons, the legal developments, particularly the refusal of bail, underscore the veracity of the charges.
The incident, however, leaves a host of questions unanswered — most notably how an alleged spy was able to enter Belgium, a Benelux country that has hosted NATO headquarters for nearly six decades, and gather information on behalf of a foreign power.
Euronews explains how the legal case is unfolding, what is at stake, and who could be responsible.
