Slovakia has charged a former military academy officer and another man with espionage for Russia, police and a special prosecutor announced today.
The announcement came a day after a NATO member state expelled three Russian diplomats. Russia has said it will respond to what it calls unjust deportation.
Acting police chief Stefan Hamran told a televised press conference in Bratislava that police had detained and charged a former vice-chancellor of a military academy, who identified himself as Pavlov Rus, with the service of GRU military intelligence since 2013.
“This person was an intelligence contact of the Russian GRU αξ officers for whom he was searching, gathering and disclosing information of strategic importance,” Hamran said.
Hamran identified the other man as Bochus G., a webmaster who was shut down by the government earlier this month for spreading misinformation. The man admitted that he was looking for information from secret reports to Parliament, Hamran said.
Defendants face sentences ranging from 4 years in prison to 13 years in prison if convicted. According to police, two other people were detained but released without charge.
Special Prosecutor Daniel Lipsic said the Russian attack on Ukraine had brought espionage activities back to the forefront.
“The Russian Federation has categorized Slovakia as an unfriendly country and for this reason, these cases will receive a great deal of attention,” he said.
Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ
Source: Capital
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