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A South Korean citizen arrested in Russia earlier this 12 months on suspicion of spying is to stay in custody till mid-June, Russia’s state information company TASS mentioned Monday.
The information company mentioned it’s the first time {that a} South Korean has been arrested for espionage in Russia.
TASS mentioned the person, recognized by the company as Baek Received-soon, was detained “firstly of the 12 months” within the far japanese metropolis of Vladivostok and was taken to Moscow on the finish of February. He’s being held in Lefortovo Jail, the place a court docket on Monday ordered his detention prolonged till June 15, Tass mentioned.
TASS cited an unnamed legislation enforcement official as saying the suspect handed on data “constituting state secrets and techniques to international intelligence companies.” The case has been labeled “prime secret” and no additional particulars have been made public.
Over the previous 12 months, Russia has detained a number of international nationals and accused them of committing varied offenses.
Final March, Russia detained Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Road Journal reporter who was on a enterprise journey to Russia, on espionage expenses. In October, Russian-U.S. journalist Alsu Kurmasheva was detained for failing to register as a international agent and later charged with spreading “false data” concerning the Russian army.
Final month, TASS reported a German man had been detained and accused of smuggling medication. Additionally in February, Russian state information businesses reported a twin U.S.-Russian girl recognized as Ksenia Khavana was arrested on expenses of committing treason.
Russia has beforehand been accused of focusing on international residents to make use of them as bargaining chips to safe the discharge of Russian prisoners overseas. The Russian authorities has denied the accusations.
In a latest interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to recommend that in change for Gershkovich, Russia is searching for the return of Vadim Krasikov, who’s serving a life sentence in Germany after being convicted of the 2019 killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen of Chechen ethnicity.
Gershkovich can be held in Lefortovo Jail, infamous for its harsh situations. The jail dates from the czarist period and has been a terrifying image of repression since Soviet instances.
This can be the primary time a South Korea citizen has been arrested for espionage in modern Russia, as TASS reported, however in 1937, paranoid that there have been Japanese spies among the many ethnic Koreans dwelling within the Soviet Far East, Joseph Stalin ordered the deportation of an estimated 172,000 ethnic Koreas to Central Asia, the place their descendants nonetheless stay right now.
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