A Moscow court has sentenced a 63-year-old Norwegian, Frode Berg, to 14 years in a strict-regime labour camp for spying on Russian navy submarines.<\/p>\n
Berg, arrested in Moscow in 2017, denied the accusation.<\/p>\n
He formerly worked as a guard on the Norwegian-Russian border.<\/p>\n
Berg admitted acting as a courier for Norwegian intelligence, but said he had little knowledge of the mission. A Russian ex-policeman accused of passing him navy files has been jailed.<\/p>\n
Berg’s lawyer, Ilya Novikov, said his client would not appeal against the verdict but would seek a pardon from President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n
Norway – a Nato member – shares an Arctic border with Russia and for decades their relations were amicable, even during the Cold War. But ties have worsened since 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.<\/p>\n
Mr Novikov, quoted by AFP news agency, said Berg “expects his government to undertake diplomatic efforts” and “we see no practical use in appealing”.<\/p>\n
“He’s been used without his knowledge,” Mr Novikov said. “We cannot talk about gathering any secret information.”<\/p>\n
He warned that, at the age of 63, Berg was facing “basically a life sentence”.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"