Sweden releases alleged Russian spy from custody
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Swedish prosecutor said Friday a computer specialist suspected of spying for Russia has been released from custody.
Mats Ljungqvist says the evidence against Kristian Dmitrievski “is such that the suspect cannot complicate the investigation.” Ljungqvist said he couldn’t comment further because the case is “sensitive.”
Dmitrievski, a 45-year-old naturalized Swedish citizen who previously held a Russian passport, was arrested Feb. 26 by Sweden’s domestic security agency SAPO as he met with a Russian intelligence officer working at Russia’s Embassy in Stockholm under diplomatic cover.
SAPO said the Russian officer had recruited Dmitrievski and that criminal activity had been going on at least since 2017. Dmitrievski has not been charged.
Asked by Sweden’s TT news agency whether there was a risk that Dmitrievski could flee, Ljungqvist replied “I don’t think so, but I can’t go into details as to why.”
According to an intelligence report from a European service obtained by The Associated Press, the Russian diplomat is Yevgeny Umerenko, who has left Sweden, according to the Swedish Foreign Ministry. The reason for his departure was not known.
The same report says Umerenko allegedly served as a “line-x officer,” or a specialist in technology espionage.
The head of SAPO’s counter-espionage unit, Daniel Stenling, earlier said the suspect “works in the Swedish high-tech industry” and has information that the security agency knows is of interest to foreign intelligence services.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
