Lithuania has referred to court a criminal case against a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer accused of organising intelligence-gathering operations in the country, prosecutors said on Monday.
The defendant, who will be tried in absentia, is accused of organising and coordinating a group between 2014 and 2020 to collect information on strategic sites, state institutions, border security systems, social developments and people attending various events.
Two Lithuanian citizens recruited by the defendant have already been identified and convicted of spying for Russia.
Klaipeda Regional Court sentenced Aleksėjus Greičius to four years in prison. Mindaugas Tunikaitis, who pleaded guilty and expressed remorse, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Investigators found that Tunikaitis collected information on state institutions and other targets of interest to Russian intelligence, photographed infrastructure, gathered data on officials and event participants, and was instructed to obtain publications and disseminate information.
