A Lithuanian court on Wednesday sentenced a Russian-born sailor to seven years in prison on charges of spying for Moscow, the latest in a string of espionage cases in the region. The court in the Baltic port city of Klaipeda said the Lithuanian citizen handed Russian intelligence information about the seaport's "strategic objects" in 2015-17. Local media identified the man as sailor mechanic Roman Sesel.
The Russian embassy spokesman declined to comment when contacted by AFP. The verdict is not final and can be appealed. Lithuania and its fellow Baltic states Estonia and Latvia have strained relations with neighbouring Russia.
Moscow occupied and annexed the trio during World War II. They only broke free from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991 and joined the European Union and Nato in 2004.
Tensions between the Baltic states and Moscow have been heightened since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis in 2014.
The Baltic states have since seen a string of espionage allegations involving Russia's intelligence service.
The most prominent trial was in 2017, when a Lithuanian court sentenced Russian citizen Nikolai Filipchenko, identified as an employee of the Russian federal security service FSB, to 10 years in prison for spying.
Russian courts for their part sentenced two Lithuanian nationals in 2015 for spying on Moscow.
Comments
Comments are closed.