Skip to main content

Italy expels Russian officials over espionage case

 Rome

CNN — 

Italy is expelling two Russian officials in connection with an espionage case, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Wednesday on his Facebook page.

The expulsions followed the arrest Tuesday of an Italian navy captain and the detention of a Russian military officer who is stationed in Rome, both on charges of espionage.

The two men were “caught in flagrante and by surprise” and were arrested right after the Italian navy captain gave classified information to the Russian officer ‘in exchange for money,’” the Carabinieri, or Italian paramilitary police, said in a press release.

The Russian officer’s position was being evaluated because of his diplomatic status, the press release said.

Di Maio did not name the two people who were being expelled and it was not immediately clear who the second person concerned could be.

The Italian Foreign Ministry has not yet responded to a request for comment from CNN on the identity of the two expelled officials.

The Russian ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Rome on Wednesday morning, Di Maio said.

“During the convocation of the Russian Ambassador to Italy at the Foreign Ministry, we let him know about the strong protest of the Italian Government and notified the immediate expulsion of the two Russian officials involved in this extremely grave affair,” the minister’s Facebook post said.

“I thank our intelligence [services] and all of the state’s apparatus that every day work for the security of our country.”

According to the Carabinieri, the arrests Tuesday were the result of lengthy intelligence work carried out by the Italian Internal Security Agency, with the support of the Italian Military Chief of Staff. The Carabinieri’s special unit ROS, which also deals with terrorism, conducted the operation with the guidance of the Rome prosecutor’s office.

Addressing the Senate Foreign Affairs Commission on Wednesday, Di Maio said the necessary action had been taken immediately to deal with “an extremely serious hostile act.”

“What happened is unacceptable and there will be consequences, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “It is not acceptable that an officer of our navy is paid for NATO information. Therefore, not only our security is at risk, but that of the whole of NATO.”

The Russian embassy in Rome confirmed that a military officer in Rome had been detained on March 30.

“A verification of the circumstances of what happened is taking place,” an embassy statement said. “For the time being, we believe that it is inappropriate to make comments on what has taken place. In any event, we hope that what happened is not reflected on the bilateral relationship between Russia and Italy.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov appeared to downplay the significance of the affair.

“At the moment, we do not have information about the reasons and circumstances of this detention,” he said. “But in any case, we hope that the very positive and constructive character of Russian-Italian relations will be preserved.”

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab tweeted Wednesday: “The UK stands in solidarity with Italy and its actions today, exposing and taking action against Russia’s malign and destabilising activity that is designed to undermine our NATO ally.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Another major HIV vaccine trial fails

  The only HIV vaccine in a late-stage trial has failed, researchers announced Wednesday, dealing a significant blow to the effort to control the global HIV epidemic and adding to a decadeslong roster of failed attempts. Known as Mosaico, the trial was the product of a public-private partnership including the U.S. government and the pharmaceutical giant Janssen. It was run out of eight nations in Europe and the Americas, including the U.S., starting in 2019. Researchers enrolled nearly 3,900 men who have sex with men and transgender people, all deemed at substantial risk of HIV. The  leaders of the study   decided to discontinue  the mammoth research effort after an independent data and safety monitoring board reviewed the trial’s findings and saw no evidence the vaccine lowered participants’ rate of HIV acquisition. “It’s obviously disappointing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, who as the long-time head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was an...
Post a Comment
Read more

How events unfolded in Sarah Everard’s killing as her murderer is sentenced to life without parole

  The day Everard goes missing – March 3: 4:45 p.m.: Couzens collects the hire car. – 9 p.m.: Everard leaves her friend’s house in Clapham Junction in south London to walk about 2.5 miles home. – 9:13 p.m.: She phones her boyfriend for just over 14 minutes. – 9:15 p.m.: Everard is captured alone on CCTV. – 9:35 p.m.: A bus camera captures two figures beside a white Vauxhall Astra parked on the sidewalk with hazard lights flashing. – 9:38 p.m.: Another bus camera captures the same vehicle with the two front car doors open. – 11:38 p.m.: Couzens transfers Everard to his own car in Dover and drives towards a secluded rural area where she is raped and murdered. The aftermath – 2:31 a.m.: Having transferred Everard to his own car, a Seat, Couzens stops at a service station in Dover to buy drinks. Everard is dead by this point. – 3:21 a.m.: The car passes a CCTV camera near Hoad’s Wood, where Everard’s body is dumped. He visits the site twice, leaving just before dawn. – 8:30 a.m.: The h...
Post a Comment
Read more

Top Wikipedia Editor Arrested in Belarus

     Prominent   Wikipedia   editor Mark Bernstein has been detained in   Belarus   for editing   Wikipedia   articles about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) has arrested Bernstein, according to Belarusian publication Zerkalo. The Verge reported that Bernstein's social media accounts, Wikipedia handle and place of work had been shared in GUBOPik's channel on the Telegram messaging app. A video of Bernstein's arrest was also posted, along with his photo and personal details. Bernstein is accused of "distributing fake anti-Russian information" in the photo. Bernstein is one of the top 50 editors of Russian Wikipedia. A Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson said: "The Foundation's Trust and Safety and Human Rights teams have been monitoring the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. "We are in close touch with our communities in the region to ensure their saf...
Post a Comment
Read more