A US citizen was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison on Wednesday for offering China sensitive information while working as a civilian contractor at a US military base in Germany, AFP reports.

The defendant, whose name has only been released in part as Martin D., appeared before a German court in the western city of Koblenz, where the trial was partly held behind closed doors.

In 2024, prosecutors charged that Martin D. “had repeatedly contacted Chinese government institutions and offered to pass on classified information obtained from the US military to Chinese intelligence.”

The man worked as a contractor for the US Defense Department between 2017 and 2023, including at a US military base in Germany since at least 2020, according to the indictment.

He was arrested by German police in Frankfurt in November 2024 and has been held in pretrial detention since.

The United States established dozens of bases in Germany after World War II, and still has more than 35,000 US troops stationed in the country.

The bases–located mostly in the former US military occupation zone in western and southern Germany–also employ around 11,000 civilians for services such as logistics, catering, healthcare, and security.