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Italy sentences ex-navy officer to 20 years over spying for Russia

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Italy sentences ex-navy officer to 20 years over spying for Russia
The Russian embassy in Rome, Italy, 2021. (Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images)

A court in Rome sentenced on Jan. 19 a former Italian navy officer to 20 years in prison for spying for Russia, the ANSA news agency reported.

Frigate captain Walter Biot was found guilty of espionage and bribery after being allegedly caught handing over secret data to a Russian embassy official in March 2021.

According to the charges, Biot wanted to sell a flash drive with secret data for 5,000 euros ($5,447) to Russian naval attache Dmitry Ostroukhov. The Italian officer was detained during the attempted handover.

The memory card reportedly contained 181 photographs of documents and images from Biot's computer, including 47 marked as "NATO secret" and 57 as "NATO confidential."

This is already the second sentence handed to Biot, as a military tribunal sentenced him to 30 years in prison in March 2023.

Italy expelled two Russian diplomats in 2021 in retaliation for the scandal.

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Martin Fornusek

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Martin Fornusek is a reporter for the Kyiv Independent, specializing in international and regional politics, history, and disinformation. Based in Lviv, Martin often reports on international politics, with a focus on analyzing developments related to Ukraine and Russia. His career in journalism began in 2021 after graduating from Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, earning a Master's degree in Conflict and Democracy Studies. Martin has been invited to speak on Times Radio, France 24, Czech Television, and Radio Free Europe. He speaks English, Czech, and Ukrainian.

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