MOSCOW, December 27. /TASS/. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has finished a pre-trial probe into the case of Norwegian national Frode Berg who is accused of spying in Russia. A court trial will begin in February 2019, Berg’s defense attorney, Ilya Novikov, said on Thursday.
"Today, the FSB officially notified Frode Berg’s defense lawyers that the pre-trial investigation is over. Court hearings are expected to begin in February. Berg denied his guilt," Novikov wrote on his Facebook account.
Frode Berg, 62, a Norwegian national, was detained in Moscow in December 2017 during a special operation of the Federal Security Service when he was receiving secret documents. He is charged with spying under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code.
Berg’s lawyers, Ilya Novikov and Brynjulf Risnes, say he pleads not guilty but admits his cooperation with Norwegian intelligence agencies. According to the lawyers, their client admits he visited Russia as a courier for the Norwegian Intelligence Service but did not understand what he was doing and was unaware of possible consequences. The Norwegian authorities refused to comment on Berg’s statement.
Berg had worked at a checkpoint on the Norwegian-Russian border for more than 20 years. He was inspector of the Border Commissariat subordinated to the Norwegian Justice Ministry and responsible for the implementation of the bilateral treaty on the Russian-Norwegian border and the procedure of the settlement of border conflicts and incidents. Berg, who lives in the Norwegian town of Kirkenes, nine kilometers from the Russian border, retired in 2014.