Years in prison for Sweden: Brothers convicted of spying on Russia

Two brothers have been convicted in Sweden of serious espionage for Russia. The older got life imprisonment, the younger almost ten years. The brothers have forwarded sensitive information, so the allegation.

There is no doubt, according to the Stockholm district court in the reasoning: The brothers have forwarded sensitive information to the Russian military intelligence service GRU for years. As a result, they were sentenced to life imprisonment or nine years and ten months in prison.

The judges assume that the older brother was responsible for obtaining secret documents. For years he worked for the Swedish intelligence service Säpo and later for the military intelligence service MUST.

Encryption programs and a diary

“We found encryption programs and other programs that cover up tracks on his private computer,” explains court spokesman Mans Wigen. “One of the most important pieces of evidence is traces of two documents that he was charged with. And he handled large sums of cash in the space of ten months in 2016 and 2017 – the equivalent of around 50,000 euros.”

The younger brother kept a kind of diary that was found on a USB stick – also an important piece of evidence. Both defendants had denied the allegations. A lawyer announced that the older brother wanted to appeal.

Risk that important sources have been exposed

Tony Ingesson is a political scientist at Lund University and an espionage expert. He told Swedish television that the case was a kind of worst-case scenario. “There is a risk that the brothers have uncovered important sources for Sweden, i.e. informants. It is a big risk for them. And even if a person does not necessarily have access to the most secret information, the mass of information over time is also crucial .”

But it is not known how great the damage really is, what secret information has been passed on. Because the trial took place almost exclusively behind closed doors for two months.

“On the few occasions when the media were allowed, it was all about the general stuff, about the indictment and the statements,” said Lars Erik Taubert, a court reporter on Swedish television. “It was difficult to get an impression of the reactions of the defendants.”

Espionage in Sweden could increase

The case of the two brothers is now closed for the time being, but the Swedish intelligence service expects that espionage activities in Sweden will continue to increase – also because of the planned NATO membership.

“Russia has a need for technology and knowledge about political processes and decisions here in Sweden,” said the head of the Säpo intelligence service, Charlotte von Essen, recently. “In our estimation, this also increases the need for secret service activities.”

Shortly before the trial of the two brothers began at the end of November, another spectacular arrest of suspected spies took place in Sweden: special forces roped down from a helicopter at night and arrested a couple in a Stockholm villa. They, too, are said to have been spying on behalf of Russia for years.