Belgian investigators suspect that NATO intern Biwei Zhang, who was arrested on spying charges, may have accomplices trying to derail the probe.
Zhang was arrested in the Belgian city of Mons on July 24 on suspicion of “espionage on behalf of a third country and participation in
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Belgian investigators suspect that NATO intern Biwei Zhang, who was arrested on spying charges, may have accomplices trying to derail the probe.
Zhang was arrested in the Belgian city of Mons on July 24 on suspicion of “espionage on behalf of a third country and participation in a criminal organisation”.
Zhang had spent about a year working as an intern at NATO’s military headquarters in Belgium — the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) — before her arrest.
Just a few weeks after her placement began in summer 2025, she aroused suspicion and came to the attention of NATO’s internal counter-intelligence service and the Belgian security services.
Zhang, who specializes in artificial intelligence and data analysis, asked several questions about the security of NATO’s military nerve centre and entered areas that were off-limits to interns.

The Belgian security services became even more concerned on Apr 21 this year, a security official said. An evacuation took place on the SHAPE complex after an alarm had gone off.
During the mandatory evacuation, Zhang was spotted near the heavily guarded offices of NATO’s highest-ranking military commander, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). Furthermore, suspicious activity was observed in the access control system of these premises occupied by SACEUR, according to the official.
To date, it remains unknown who triggered the alarm.
Shortly after this incident, consultations took place between the Belgian military intelligence service and SHAPE’s counter-intelligence unit. Subsequently, with the consent of the Canadian authorities, a judicial investigation was launched, leading to Zhang’s arrest in July.
Yet that did not put an end to suspicious activity surrounding her. After Zhang was taken into custody, the passwords to several of her social media accounts were changed remotely.
The shared flat in Mons where she had been living was also broken into after police had carried out a search. Authorities suspect that Zhang has accomplices who are trying to obstruct the investigation.
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