Russian spy sentenced to seven years in prison in Lithuania
Lithuania has sentenced Lithuanian citizen Roman Sesel to seven years in prison on charges of spying for the Russian Federation, DELFI reported. Sesel collected data on the NATO ships, the company Klaipedos Nafta and other facilities. Under Lithuanian laws, spying is punishable by three to 15 years of imprisonment.
"The evidence collected in the case proved that he had not only been given the assignment, but had also performed specific spying actions," said Gintare Daugelaite, spokeswoman for the court.
It is noted that the Prosecutor’s Office of Lithuania sought a prison sentence of eight years for Sesel. He did not plead guilty. The ruling is not final and can be appealed to the Lithuanian Court of Appeals.
According to the Prosecutor’s General Office, Sesel was born in 1974 in Russia and lived in Bryansk. The man carried out certain tasks related to the collection and transfer of information to Russian intelligence. The prosecutors believe that Sesel has been collecting information on the Lithuanian Navy, NATO ships and military equipment transported by them, as well as facilities located in Klaipeda, including those of strategic importance to Lithuania.
In addition, he collected information about the terminal of liquefied natural gas, the Klaipedos Nafta company, the infrastructure of these facilities, tanks, protection systems and changes. Sesel did not collect or transfer classified documents to the Russian side, but his actions should be considered a crime because he carried out tasks for the intelligence services of a foreign state.
The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office also has information that Sesel was to establish friendly relations with representatives of the Lithuanian Navy and win their trust.