Two Swedes accused of spying for Russia go to trial

tomtidgewellNovember 25, 2022

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November 25, 2022 • 1 minute ago • Read in 2 minutes

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People attend the trial of two brothers suspected of spying on Sweden for 10 years for the Russian intelligence agency GRU at the District Court in Stockholm, Sweden, November 25, 2022. Photo by Jessica Gou/TT News Agency /via Reuters

STOCKHOLM — The case of two Iranian-born Swedish brothers charged with spying for Russia and its military intelligence service GRU for 10 years began on Friday in Sweden.

Peyman Kia, 42, and Payam Kia, 35, went to the Stockholm region to face charges that they cooperated to pass information to Russia between 28 September 2011 and 20 September 2021. I went to court.

From 2014 to 2015, Peyman Kier worked in the Swedish military as well as in the domestic intelligence services of Sweden. Swedish prosecutors claim the data they provided to the Russians originated from several authorities within the Swedish Security and Intelligence Service, known by the acronym SAPO.

Swedish media reported that Peyman Kier worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency (Swedish acronym MUST) and in a covert unit under MUST that dealt with Swedish spies abroad.

Intelligence expert Joachim von Braun told Swedish broadcaster SVT that this is because Sweden has compiled a list of all employees within SAPO, although many details remain unknown. said it was believed to be one of the most damaging espionage operations in .

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“Russian intelligence is so focused on human sources that that alone is a big problem,” von Braun said.

Peyman Kia was arrested in September 2021 and his brother in November 2021. Both denied wrongdoing, defense attorneys said in court.

According to an indictment obtained by the Associated Press, 35-year-old Payam Kia helped his brother during his arrest and “dismantled and smashed a hard drive that was later found in a trash can.”

Naturalized Swedish citizens face up to life imprisonment if convicted.

In another case, Swedish authorities on Thursday released one of two people arrested this week on suspicion of spying for Sweden and another foreign power, although the released remains a suspect.

The two were arrested Tuesday during a pre-dawn operation in the Stockholm district. Authorities have released few details of the incident, but Swedish media cited testimony that elite police had arrested him by rappelling from two of his Black Hawk helicopters.

According to Swedish reports, the couple are a Russian national who arrived in Sweden in the late 1990s. AP could not see these reports.

Swedish prosecutors said late Thursday that one of the two had been released but remains a suspect. Released one and no longer explains why he keeps the other in custody.

The investigation has been ongoing for some time, SAPO said. One of those arrested, he said, was suspected of aggravated spying against Sweden and “foreign powers.” Authorities did not identify other countries allegedly conducting espionage.

Swedish authorities say the case is not related to other espionage cases.