Belarusian citizen faces prosecution for espionage in Latvia

Take note – story published 1 year ago

Latvia's State Security Service (VDD) revealed July 26 that on July 18 it asked the prosecutor's office to initiate a criminal prosecution against a citizen of Belarus for alleged espionage.

The unnamed Belarusian was detained on February 15 by the VDD in close cooperation with the Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIDD) on suspicion of espionage.

In the course of the investigation, it was established that the person covertly photographed and filmed objects of the Latvian defense system, the critical infrastructure of electricity supply, as well as important objects of the civil infrastructure on behalf of the Belarusian military intelligence service. The information obtained during the investigation of the service shows that the person obtained intelligence information on at least 17 different nationally important objects.

"In the assessment of the VDD, information of this nature could be useful for Belarus, as well as its ally Russia, in the event of a possible military conflict with NATO, including Latvia, in order to plan sabotage or attacks on military objects and the country's critical infrastructure," the VDD said. 

"Information obtained by this person in an illegal manner and transferred to the military intelligence service of Belarus could potentially cause significant damage to the provision of the basic functions of the Latvian state and defense capabilities in the conditions of a military conflict," it added.

In the course of the investigation, it was also established that the citizen of Belarus had been recruited and trained as a spy in Belarus.

 

Seen a mistake?

Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor

Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor

Related articles

More

Most important