The police’s security service (PST) believes that José Assis Giammaria is actually Russian Mikhail Valerievich Mikushin (44). Giammaria was a visiting researcher at the University of Tromsø with a Brazilian passport, but was arrested by the police on Monday. On Friday, the man was detained for four weeks. He has agreed to detention, but denies criminal guilt. On Friday afternoon, researcher Christo Grozev in the excavation network Bellingcat will provide new information about the man. CONFIDENT IN HIS CASE: Researcher Christo Grozev in the excavation network Bellingcat says he is sure they have found the right person. – We believe we have solid evidence that he is a GRU officer who travels around the world with a Brazilian identity, says Grozev to news. (Read more about the evidence further down in the case) The accused man’s defender Marijana Lozic does not want to comment on the information from Bellingcat. She said earlier on Friday that the man pleads not guilty. – Good job, Norway Grozev says the story has similarities with other spies they believe to have exposed. The researcher himself published the information on Twitter on Friday afternoon. – Good job, Norway – you have taken an officer from the GRU, he wrote on Twitter. VG has a collaboration with Bellingcat, and was the first to come up with this information. Brazilian identity The excavation network Bellingcat is known for its investigation of events in Eastern Europe. Grozev is the main researcher in matters about Russia. He has previously helped to identify Russian agents who were involved in the attack on Sergei Skripal. The man who was detained for four weeks on Friday has been in Norway with what PST believes is a false identity. PST believes the man is a so-called “illegal”. That is, a person who has built up an identity as an ordinary citizen, while quietly working for foreign intelligence. – We believe it is likely that he is not who he claims to be with the Brazilian passport, says police attorney Thomas Blom in PST. PST believes the man works for one of the Russian intelligence services. Section 121. Intelligence activities against state secrets Whoever, for the benefit of a foreign state, terrorist organization or without valid reason, collects or takes possession of secret information which, if it becomes known to such a state, is punished with a fine or imprisonment of up to 3 years. terrorist organization or is otherwise disclosed, may damage fundamental national interests that apply to a. defense, security and preparedness matters, b. the activities, security or freedom of action of the highest state bodies, c. relations with other states, d. security arrangements for the representation of foreign states and at major national and international events, e. society’s infrastructure, such as food, water and energy supply, transport and telecommunications, health emergency services or the banking and monetary system, or e. Norwegian natural resources. How they found him Bellingcat researcher Grozev says they are in contact with people who have access to the driver’s license register. There they found a driver’s license which they believe corresponds to the accused man. – Microsoft Azure (and our eyes) confirms that it is the same person, Grozev wrote when he posted the pictures on Twitter. Photo: Christo Grozev/Twitter After the researchers thought they had confirmed the man’s identity, they checked him against a historical address register. – Bingo! He was registered at the address of the dormitory of the GRU Academy. That means he’s at least a colonel! writes Grozev on Twitter. In the interview with news, Grozev says that everyone who graduates from this academy has at least this degree. Alleged to have traveled to Russia several times Defender Marijana Lozic says the accused denies criminal guilt and that he will cooperate with PST. Photo: Olav Døvik / news What Grozev says they did not find was the man’s passport. – We were told by our contacts that the passport file was missing. The only people who can have passport photos removed are the security service. The now accused man is said to have left Russia in 2006. The Bellingcat researcher believes they have found traces of at least two visits the man is said to have had in Russia after that. – In the summer of 2016, he was in Russia when he got his driver’s license, and in 2020 when we traced his online shopping to an address in Moscow, says Grozev to news. – More difficult to be a spy Researcher Anders Romarheim at the Department of Defense Studies believes that in many areas it has become more difficult to be a spy. – It has become more difficult to operate under false pretenses. You leave digital traces everywhere. If your story doesn’t connect, you’ll have a problem. And if there are no digital traces of you, it is even more alarming, says Romarheim. Tom Røseth at the Norwegian Defense Academy believes that Russia is taking bigger chances in intelligence now. He refers to two other cases where false identities have been revealed, one in Italy and one in the Netherlands. – This is a sign of great willingness to take risks, he believes. The Russian embassy rejected acquaintance The man who came to Norway with a Brazilian identity has been a visiting researcher at the University of Tromsø where he is part of the research group “The Gray Zone”. The group deals with topics such as social security, preparedness and hybrid threats. The Russian embassy has previously denied any knowledge of this man. – Generally speaking, recently spy mania has been actively promoted in Norway. Russian fishing vessels, Russian research ships, drone flights, photography and the like are mentioned in this context, the embassy wrote to news earlier this week. The embassy further writes that public agencies, private companies and individuals are all now suspected of espionage in Norway.
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The man charged with espionage is an officer in Russian intelligence – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
