A suspected spy arrested in Sweden is a senior diplomat with a number of worldwide postings, public broadcaster SVT reported Tuesday.
The Swedish diplomat is suspected of spying in Stockholm from May 1 to 11 and was arrested late Sunday, SVT stated, with out specifying its supply.
The Swedish Security Service (Sapo) introduced the arrest within the capital on Monday however gave no particulars of the suspect’s id.
Sapo spokesman Johan Wikstrom instructed AFP it had opened an “espionage” case.
SVT stated Sapo was investigating whether or not the case was related to a scandal that hit Swedish nationwide safety advisor Tobias Thyberg.
He resigned inside hours of his appointment final Thursday after “sensitive” pictures of him from relationship app Grindr have been despatched anonymously to the media and the federal government.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson stated final week the federal government was investigating who despatched them.
“It’s important to know who has something to gain from this,” he instructed the newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
SVT stated the diplomat underneath arrest was not Thyberg, who served as Sweden’s ambassador to Ukraine and Afghanistan amongst different positions over a 24-year profession.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer instructed SVT on Tuesday that Sapo’s investigation would “run its course.”
“The government is being kept abreast of developments and is in close contact with the relevant authorities,” he stated.
A video clip revealed by SVT confirmed what it stated was the diplomat’s condo door forcibly opened by police.
Sweden has in recent times seen a number of high-profile spying instances.
In January 2023, a former Swedish intelligence officer was handed a life sentence for spying for Russia.
In September that 12 months, a Russian-Swedish nationwide went on trial, accused of passing Western expertise to Russia’s navy. A courtroom discovered he had exported the fabric however dominated his actions didn’t quantity to intelligence-gathering.
In February 2024, the Swedish Agency for Support for Faith Communities minimize funding to the Russian Orthodox Church in Sweden, after Sapo warned that it believed the church was getting used for intelligence actions.
In its annual evaluation, revealed in March, Sapo spotlighted Russia, China and Iran as the first actors directing intelligence actions focusing on the Nordic nation.
Contacted by AFP on Tuesday, the overseas ministry refused to reply questions concerning the newest case and referred the media to the justice ministry.
Strommer didn’t instantly reply to AFP.
Source: www.dailysabah.com