An Oslo court convicted a 28-year-old former US Embassy security guard of espionage on Wednesday. The court found that he spied for Russia and Iran, sentencing him to three years and seven months in prison.
Prosecutors said the man shared details about embassy diplomats, floor plans, and security routines. Norwegian state broadcaster NRK reported that the man turned to Russian and Iranian contacts because of American ties to Israel and the war in Gaza.
The defendant admitted the facts in the indictment but denied any criminal intent. He was found guilty of five espionage-related offenses and acquitted of gross corruption.
Defence Disputes the Severity of the Charges
The man’s defence team argued that his actions did not amount to espionage under Norwegian law. In a statement, attorney Inger Zadig from Elden Law Firm said the defendant lied about holding security clearance and exaggerated his position at the embassy.
“He had access similar to a janitor,” Zadig said. “The information he shared was useless and could not endanger anyone or any state.”
The defence attorneys are now considering whether to appeal the verdict. Prosecutor Carl Fredrik Fari said his office might challenge the sentence, noting that the state sought more than six years in prison.
Norway Tightens Security Amid Rising Espionage Concerns
Police arrested the man in November last year, while he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in security and preparedness at Norway’s Arctic University (UiT). NRK noted that this marks the second espionage case linked to UiT in recent years.
In 2022, Norwegian authorities arrested a UiT guest researcher posing as a Brazilian named José Assis Giammaria. Investigators later identified him as Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin, a Russian intelligence officer, who was part of a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Western nations in 2023.
Norway shares a 198-kilometre Arctic border with Russia. Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Oslo has tightened restrictions on Russian nationals entering the country. The Norwegian government also said last year that it was considering building a border fence along parts of its frontier with Russia.
