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Salzburg prosecutors appeal against court’s refusal to arrest suspected Russian spy

According to court sources, after hearing the suspect’s statement, the judge decided to reject the request as he had been aware of the investigation for quite a while and had not tried to flee

VIENNA, November 13. /TASS/. The Salzburg prosecution office has filed an appeal against the Salzburg District Court’s refusal to arrest a retired Austrian Army colonel, suspected of spying for Russia, prosecution sources said on Tuesday.

The Salzburg District Court earlier rejected the prosecution’s request for an arrest warrant for the suspected spy. According to court sources, after hearing the suspect’s statement, the judge decided to reject the arrest warrant request as the suspect had been aware of the investigation for quite a while and had not tried to flee. Nevertheless, the court ordered the colonel to surrender his international passport and report to his local police station every day. The man had been put in custody on Saturday and released on Tuesday based on a court decision.

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Court refuses to arrest Austrian colonel suspected of spying for Russia

On November 9, the Austrian authorities said they had opened an investigation into a 70-year-old retired colonel, suspected of working for Russian intelligence agencies since the 1990s, providing Moscow with information about Austria’s air force, artillery and the migration crisis. If found guilty, the colonel may face two years in prison.

According to the Salzburg prosecution, following a series of questionings, investigators came to the conclusion that the retired colonel was to be charged under two articles of the Austrian Criminal Code, which concern inflicting damage on Austria by working for another country’s intelligence agency and disclosing state secrets, as well as under a military criminal law related to the deliberate disclosure of military secrets.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pointed out he was unpleasantly surprised at Vienna’s failure to ask Moscow to shed some light on those allegations.

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