Dusseldorf, May 27 (IANS/DPA) A 54-year-old German army officer who confessed to spying for Russia has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison by a court in Dusseldorf.
The man, a captain, had acknowledged betraying sensitive military information to the Russian secret services. He also joined the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) political party around the same time he offered himself up to Russian intelligence.
Prosecutors accused him of serving as an agent for a hostile, ruthlessly aggressive foreign power.
German police officers arrested the man in Koblenz on August 9, and he has been held in custody since then. The incident was one of several Russian spy scandals that have rocked Germany in recent months and heightened concerns about security in the country.
He faced a shorter prison sentence because the information he offered to the Russians was classified as official secrets. If he had also betrayed more sensitive state secrets, he could have faced more severe punishments, up to a life sentence.
The captain had claimed that he was driven by fear of a nuclear escalation during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His defence lawyer argued that he began consuming fake news, propaganda and conspiracies on the social media platforms Telegram and TikTok during a difficult stretch of professional work.
“It’s the biggest cock-up I’ve ever made in my life,” the defendant said in a closing statement to the court. He said that depression caused by chronic overwork had impaired his rational thinking.
His defence lawyer said that the decision came during a four-day period in which he destroyed everything he had built over a years-long career as a professional soldier: “Four days of betrayal in which he crossed red lines. Four days of complete failure.”
At times, he was far removed from reality, his defence lawyer said. He also noted that the man has since quit the AfD party.
–IANS/DPA
sd/dan
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
