A Norwegian student arrested on allegations of spying on U.S. for Russia
OSLO, Norway — A Norwegian student in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia and Iran while working as a guard at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, authorities in Norway have said.
The man, who has not been identified, was ordered to be held in custody for four weeks. He runs a security company jointly with a dual national of Norway and an unspecified eastern European country, according to Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.
Oslo police said Friday they would review the company’s operating license.
Norway’s domestic intelligence agency, PST, said Thursday night that the man was arrested in his garage at home on Wednesday on suspicion of having damaged national security with his intelligence-related activity.
The arrest warrant from the district court says, among other things, that the police found records of the man’s assignment dialogue with a person who was apparently guiding his espionage activity, according to NRK.
The man has admitted to collecting and sharing information with Russian and Iranian authorities, the court order says, according to NRK.
Norway may put a fence along part or all of the 123-mile border it shares with Russia, a move inspired by a similar project in its Nordic neighbor Finland.
It is too early to talk about the details of the man’s activity, PST spokesperson Thomas Blom said during a news conference Thursday night. The intelligence agency has confirmed the man was employed as a security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Oslo. There are no other suspects in the case at this point.
The suspect’s attorney, John Christian Elden, told NRK that the man admits he worked for a foreign country but does not plead guilty of espionage.
“He is charged with having obtained information that could harm the security situation of third countries,†Elden said.
It was revealed Friday that the man is studying for a bachelor’s degree in security and preparedness at Norway’s Arctic University, UiT.
This is the second such case at UiT in recent years, according to NRK.
One man is held in Poland in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s president. In Germany, two men are also arrested on suspicion of espionage for Russia.
One of the people the West swapped with Russia in a major prisoner exchange in August was a UiT guest researcher who claimed to be a Brazilian named José Assis Giammaria and had been arrested on espionage allegations in 2022. The police revealed him to be Russian, Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin.
Norway has a 123-mile border with Russia in the Arctic. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Norway has heavily restricted entry for Russian nationals.
In September, the Norwegian government said it was considering a plan to build a fence along all or part of its border with Russia.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
