Man suspected of being a Russian agent is detained in Norway.

 

 

 

Authorities in Norway claim to have detained a university lecturer who was allegedly a spy for Russia.

Reports had it that, the man was detained on his way to work by Oslo’s internal security agency, the PST, after they determined he posed a “threat to basic national interests.”

The suspect, who is believed to be in his 30s, pretended to be a Brazilian academic, but authorities have identified him as Russian.

The Moscow embassy in Oslo told the local media that it didn’t know who the man was.

According to Norwegian authorities, the individual has been a researcher at the University of Tromso in the country’s north since 2021. His attorney told the local media that he disputes the charges.

Even if this … is not a threat to the security of the kingdom, we are worried it could be misused by Russia,” she added. She declined to say what had prompted the arrest, simply saying “that it was was the right point to stop the activity he was involved in”.

A court ordered that the man be held for four weeks, and a PST spokesperson told local media that the case is “huge”.

Officials believe the suspect was working in Norway as part of Russia’s so-called “illegals” programme.

But the PST’s deputy chief, Hedvig Moe, told reporters that investigators had become concerned that the man “may have acquired a network and information about Norway’s policy” in the north of the country.