The Norwegian is charged with attempted gross intelligence activities for the benefit of China. – PST is now carrying out a number of investigative steps, including interrogating witnesses and reviewing a significant amount of seizures. So far, the accused has not wanted to give any explanation to PST, says senior advisor Eirik Veum to news A week ago, the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) arrested him in Gardermoen. He was then on his way home after a trip to China. The Norwegian denies guilt and does not understand that the PST suspects him of espionage, says his defender Marius Dietrichson to news. He will not comment on why his client does not want to be questioned. – I have no comment on the progress of that investigation, other than that my client claims to be innocent, says Dietrichson. “Helomvendinger” news has spoken to several people who have had contact with the man over the years. He is described as a sociable man who easily comes into contact with people, but also as someone who ends up on the edge with different environments. Several who know the accused Norwegian describe him as impulsive and as someone who moves between many different environments. Someone who knows the man accused of spying well says that he has taken several “complete turns”, while the person in question describes him as “sharp and intelligent”. The man who is charged with attempted gross intelligence activities took part in a study trip to Germany last year. The people in the photo have no connection to the charge. Photo: Privat He has also previously been convicted in Norway. When he was in his 20s, he and several others were convicted, among other things, of damaging an embassy building in connection with a political demonstration. The court believed that he had played a leading role in the planning and implementation of the action. He was sentenced to community service, but later ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison. He had then failed to attend several of the measures and working hours he was sentenced to. – I have no comment on this, and am prevented from obtaining the accused’s possible comments on this, Dietrichson says to news about the information that appears in this case. – Provestlig A former student friend of the man accused of spying has a different impression of him. He expresses shock several times that the man has been charged with espionage in a conversation with news. The man has asked not to be named because of his current job. The man is a Norwegian citizen, and charged with attempted gross intelligence activities for the benefit of China. He denies criminal guilt. Photo: news He says several times that the man accused of being a spy was very Western-oriented in his academic texts, and ended up in a disagreement with his supervisor during his studies in China because of this. – He is the most proven person you can meet. So friendly, he makes friends with everyone he meets, says his friend. “Happy go lucky” Another person who has studied Chinese with the accused spy, and has had some contact with him afterwards, describes him as a “happy go lucky” type. – He has a few contacts here and there, organizes and fixes, has a lot of balls in the air and tries to get things done. I’m not going to doubt anything, but there is a guy who I think can end up in a number of undesirable situations, he says to news. Nor does he know the accused as a troublemaker. – He is an energetic guy with a lot of opinions, but I perceived him as reflective when we talked, says the man. Finance central Someone who knows the man accused of spying well, and whom news has spoken to, describes him as a man with a strained relationship with money. The man’s finances are a central part of PST’s investigation, according to news’s information. news knows that he has brought contacts from various circles to a Chinese restaurant in Oslo. He must have always taken the bill there, several sources tell news. At the same time, the man is not listed as having income in Norway for the past seven years. news does not know whether the man has been listed with income or assets in 2024. Thrown out of think tank news knows that the accused spy has previously been part of the liberal think tank Civita. However, he has since been removed from their mailing lists, despite the fact that he is a so-called “Civita alumnus”. It happened after a conflict related to a Civita event in 2022, manager Kristin Clemet has told. The man did not show up for voluntary work hours. Civita manager Kristin Clemet confirms that the accused spy has previously been associated with them. Photo: Robert Rønning / Robert Rønning / news – We had a bad experience with him in connection with the conference in 2022, and that meant that he received feedback about it, and that we eventually removed him from our email lists, says Clemet . Defense attorney Dietrichson has no comment on the information from Civita. – As for the accused himself, due to the restrictions imposed on him by the court, I am prevented from withholding this information from him and then disseminating his comment on it, he says. Published 09/07/2024, at 15.53 Updated 09.07.2024, at 16.06
ttn-69
Those charged with espionage did not want to be questioned – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
