2 Swedes get lengthy sentences in Russia espionage case
Two Iranian-born Swedish brothers have been given lengthy prison sentences for spying for Russia and its military intelligence service GRU for a decade
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Two Iranian-born Swedish brothers were given lengthy prison sentences on Thursday for spying for Russia and its military intelligence service GRU for a decade in the Scandinavian country's biggest espionage case in decades.
The oldest of the two naturalized Swedes — Peyman Kia — was sentenced to life, while his younger brother, Payam Kia, was sentence to nine years and 10 months. They had appeared before the Stockholm District Court where they faced charges of gross espionage for having worked jointly to pass information to Russia between Sept. 28, 2011, and Sept. 20, 2021.
A life sentence in Sweden generally means a minimum of 20 to 25 years in prison. Anton Strand, the attorney of Peyman Kia, said his client would appeal the sentence, while the younger brother’s lawyer, Björn Sandin, said it hadn’t been decided yet whether to appeal.
“It is placed beyond reasonable doubt that the brothers, together and in consultation, without authorization and for the benefit of Russia and the GRU, acquired, forwarded and disclosed information" to a foreign power with the purpose of damaging Sweden's security, the court said in its verdict.
