On Monday, the man was arrested on his way to work at the University of Tromsø. He is suspected of being a Russian spy with a false identity. PST believes they have his Russian identity. They believe the accused spy’s name is Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin and is a Russian citizen born in 1978. The man is now charged with Section 121 of the Criminal Code – illegal intelligence that can damage fundamental national interests. He has also been suspected of illegal intelligence that could damage the security interests of other states. – It is a preliminary charge. The investigation is in the very beginning phase, says police attorney in PST Thomas Blom. 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. 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. According to PST, the man has pretended to be José Assis Giammaria and a Brazilian citizen. They believe he is actually Russian and works for one of the Russian intelligence services. PST confirms that the accused spy chose to answer in English in the first detention meeting, despite the fact that a Portuguese interpreter was present in Tromsø. Blom states that they have not heard anything from the Russian authorities. The accused states that he is Brazilian. Bellingcat: The identity belongs to a Russian intelligence colonel The grave network Bellingcat says that the identity linked to the man accused of spying in Norway belongs to a colonel in Russia’s intelligence service, writes NTB. – Good job, Norway – you have taken a colonel from the GRU, writes Christo Grozev in Bellingcat on Twitter. VG also writes that they have seen information linking Mikhail Valeriyevich Mikushin to the intelligence service GRU. Bellingcat has checked Mikushin’s registered addresses in Russia. They have found him registered at a residential complex reserved for GRU officers, writes VG. Consent to detention The detention meeting was scheduled to take place in the Oslo District Court at 2pm on Friday. It was instead treated as office business. This means that the judge decides whether the man should be remanded in custody on the basis of written submissions from PST and the defender. – There is an imminent danger of tampering with evidence, says police attorney Thomas Blom. He explains it as one of the reasons why the man was detained. Marijana Lozic is the man’s defender in the Oslo district court. She says that the client agrees to detention for four weeks. – He does not plead guilty. He has agreed to four weeks’ detention, but that does not mean that he admits guilt, she tells news. – He wants to collaborate with PST, says Lozic. Rector: Must think differently from the previous Rector at UiT, Dag Rune Olsen, says that the charge applies to the environment at the university. – There is no question that data has been stolen or information obtained that could damage our research. But what will be demanding for us, which can destroy our research, is that it can undermine the legitimacy of our professional environment, says Olsen to news. He says the university is taking note of the charge. – We assume that this means that the authorities have found sufficient evidence that this has happened, and that this is being dealt with properly in the legal system, says Olsen about the charge. – What is it like as a principal to stand in such a case? – There is reason to believe that we have to think differently than before to protect ourselves. We will have to come back to that when we know more about this matter. We have a good dialogue with PST and we are intensifying that, says the rector. The man was a visiting researcher at UiT where he was part of the research group “The Gray Zone”. The group deals with topics such as social security, preparedness and hybrid threats. Photo: Twitter Detained on Tuesday The guest researcher at UiT was detained on Tuesday pending extradition from Norway. The man is therefore in custody as a security measure undertaken by the authorities. Nord-Troms and Senja district court indicated that there were concrete grounds for fearing that the man would evade deportation, and that he had had his residence permit revoked in Norway. The man did not appeal the court decision on the detention. PST stated later in the day on Tuesday that they had simultaneously started an investigation in which the man was currently suspected of illegal intelligence (Criminal Act § 121 and § 126b). Defender Thomas Hansen in Tromsø stated that the man will accept being deported from Norway, if it is decided. The accused has previously denied criminal guilt, according to his defender. The man is adamant that he is not a Russian spy, but a Brazilian citizen who came to Norway to be a researcher at the university. Work with social security and hybrid warfare The man was a visiting researcher at UiT where he was part of the research group “The Gray Zone”. The group deals with topics such as social security, preparedness and hybrid threats. Group leader for the project is security researcher Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, who told news earlier this week that the man himself contacted the university. – He came to us because of his interest in larger questions about security in the north, she said. According to Gjørv, the man has gone through the usual procedures to get a place at the university. There is nothing abnormal about the way the man approached the university. Nor should he have behaved suspiciously in a way that was visible to the colleagues news has been in contact with so far.
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Think they have his Russian identity – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
