According to Stockholm media, the Sweden was faced with the most severe case of espionage carried out on its territory. Today a court officially determined the guilt two Iranian brothersconvicted of conducting espionage services on behalf of Russia. The case came to light last year and relates to around a decade of backroom work by the defendants on Swedish territory.
The punishment in Sweden
The verdict against the Iranian brothers came in the last few hours. The older brother, Peyman Kia, was sentenced to life imprisonment. On the other hand, the minor Payam KiaShe was sentenced to nine years and ten months.
Under Swedish law, the minimum sentence is life imprisonment 20 or 25 years old of prison. The judges have cleared all doubts about the guilt of the two. “Beyond any reasonable doubt – the judgment files say – the brothers together and in collusion, without authorization and for the benefit of Russia and the GRU, obtained information, forwarded it and passed it on to a foreign power with the aim of harming the security of Sweden “.
“The older of the two brothers – the sentence continues – was fully aware of the harmful effects of his actions, he obtained, forwarded and passed on to Russia the information that poses the greatest threat to the security of Sweden.” Hence a greater condemnation for him than for his brother.
The period examined is from September 2011 to September 2021. A precise decade in which the two Iranians worked on behalf of the GRU, i.e. in the service of the GRU Military Intelligence from Moscow. The investigators identified the “smoking gun” in the list of all employees at all levels of the Swedish security services kept by the two convicted brothers. An element that thus constituted key evidence of Peyman and Payam Kia’s intelligence activities on Swedish territory.
service to Russia
During the trial, the two always rejected all allegations. The verdict for her came at a very delicate moment in relations between Stockholm and Moscow. In fact, the Swedish government has officially relayed this in recent months Application for NATO membershipabandoning the traditional neutrality of the Scandinavian country.
A direct result of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, which pushed both Sweden and Finland towards membershipAtlantic Alliance. Admittedly, a membership currently burdened by Turkey’s veto on NATO expansion into Scandinavia. Anyway, the discovery of a small but important network of informants in the service of the Kremlin gives cause for concern even after his conviction. Sweden in particular fears having other informants near Moscow on its territory.
For at least a decade, the two Iranian brothers have been constantly sending information to the GRU. The services associated with the Kremlin therefore had direct access to confidential and sensitive messages. Starting from the roles held by the various leaders of the Swedish secret service. And now we in Stockholm are wondering how such an important error in one’s own intelligence could have arisen in such a delicate phase.