Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Huawei ex-exec on trial, accused of spying for China

Two men accused of spying for China have gone on trial in Poland's capital

Via AP news wire
Tuesday 01 June 2021 09:56 EDT
Poland Huawei
Poland Huawei (The Associated Press)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Two men accused of spying for China went on trial Tuesday in Warsaw — a Chinese citizen who is a former sales director of Huawei in Poland and a Polish cybersecurity expert.

The men, Weijing Wang and Piotr Durbajlo, have both pleaded not guilty.

At the start of Tuesday's session in Poland's capital, a prosecutor requested that the trial be held in secret because of the classified nature of some of the evidence.

Defense lawyers objected, saying the nature of the charges requires that the proceedings be transparent. Both Wang, speaking in fluent Polish, and Durbajlo said they wanted an open trial. But after a brief recess, the three-judge panel announced the proceedings would be held behind closed doors, citing state interests, and journalists were told to leave.

Wang and Durbajlo were arrested by Polish authorities in January 2019 and accused of spying for China under the cover of seeking business deals for Chinese technology company Huawei.

The pair were arrested amid a wider geopolitical battle between the U.S. and China over technology and trade supremacy. Former President Donald Trump s administration lobbied European allies to boycott the next generation of 5G mobile phone networking gear from Huawei over concerns that it could be used by Beijing to facilitate cyberespionage or digital sabotage.

Wang has been in custody since his arrest. Durbajlo, a former cybersecurity expert for government agencies including the Internal Security Agency, was released on bail after six months in custody.

According to the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, the indictment is partly classified, but its public section alleges that Wang is a Chinese intelligence agent and from 2011-2019 sought high-ranking contracts for Huawei that would give the Chinese company insight into, and influence over, state and local government data systems in Poland.

Both men face criminal charges of taking part in a foreign intelligence operation and threatening Poland's interests. If convicted, they face a minimum of three years in prison.

Wang studied in Poland and later served at the Chinese Consulate in Gdansk before moving over to a senior position at Huawei. He is also known by a Polish first name, Stanislaw.

The Pole is suspected of helping him establish contacts and providing him with documents. Some observers say the documents were public and not classified.

The trial is expected to take months and there is no date yet for the final verdict.

Huawei declined to comment because the case was ongoing. It has repeatedly denied the U.S. allegations but since the pair’s arrest, Huawei’s fortunes in Europe have tumbled because of the U.S. campaign. Countries such as Britain, Sweden and Bulgaria have banned Huawei equipment from their networks and others such as France say they favor homegrown rivals like Ericsson and Nokia for security reasons.

Huawei gear, which has been effectively blocked by the U.S. since 2012, has also been shunned by Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

___

Kelvin Chan contributed to this report from London.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in