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Norwegian charged with espionage may be exchanged for Russian senate official — lawyer

Norwegian national Frode Berg was detained in Moscow in December 2017

Frode Berg AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

Frode Berg

© AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

MOSCOW, September 26. /TASS/. Norwegian national Frode Berg, charged with espionage in Russia, may be exchanged for Mikhail Bochkarev, a Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) offilain recently detained in Norway on similar charges, Berg’s defense attorney Ilya Novikov told TASS on Wednesday.

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"A Russian national, Mikhail Bochkarev, has been detained in Norway for the first time. My client may be exchanged for Bochkarev, we do not rule out such a possibility but it is too early to speak about it because no charges have been brought against the Russian, there has been no trial yet," the attorney said.

At the same time, Novikov said that an additional probe in the Berg case had been ordered. "We hoped that hearings of the Berg case will take place in November but under the current circumstances, it is more likely to happen in December," the attorney concluded.

Bochkarev’s detention

Russian citizen Mikhail Bochkarev was detained at Oslo Gardermoen Airport on September 21. The Russian embassy in Norway confirmed his detention and said it considered the move to be far-fetched.

Federation Council Deputy Speaker Ilyas Umakhanov, in turn, confirmed that Bochkarev was a Federation Council official. He added that upper house members would make every possible effort to protect his legitimate rights and interests.

Berg case

Norwegian national Frode Berg was detained in Moscow in December 2017 during a special operation carried out by the Federal Security Service (FSB). He is charged with espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. Moscow’s Lefortovsky District Court extended his arrest until October 5.

Berg’s lawyers say he pleads not guilty but admits cooperation with Norwegian intelligence agencies. According to the lawyers, their client admits he visited Russia acting as a courier for the Norwegian Intelligence Service but did not understand what he was actually doing and was unaware of the possible consequences. Norway’s authorities declined to comment on Berg’s statement.

Berg worked at a checkpoint on the Norwegian-Russian border for more than 20 years. He was an inspector at a government agency subordinate the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, responsible for the implementation of a bilateral treaty on the Russian-Norwegian border and the resolution of border conflicts and incidents.

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