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Lithuania sentences Russian citizen to ten years in jail for espionage

The Vilnius District Court has sentenced Russian citizen Nikolai Filipchenko to ten years behind bars for espionage

VILNIUS, July 7. /TASS/. The Vilnius District Court has sentenced Russian citizen Nikolai Filipchenko to ten years behind bars for espionage.

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The prosecutor’s office demanded that the Russian be sentenced to ten-and-a-half years in prison. Upon the prosecutor’s request, the court hearings were held behind closed doors.

Lithuania claims that being an officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Filipchenko tried to recruit some of the personnel from Lithuania’s VIP Protection Department in order to make them install special equipment and spy on the country’s high-ranking officials.

Filipchenko rejected all accusations saying that he had not caused any damage to Lithuania. During the court hearings, he refused to testify taking advantage of his legitimate right.

A source in the Russian embassy in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius told TASS that the embassy had been "deeply engaged" in this case.

The Russian citizen was arrested in Lithuania while travelling from Russia’s western enclave of Kaliningrad to the mainland. According to the Lithuanian State Security Department, it was the first time that a Russian intelligence officer was arrested in the country. Filipchenko has remained in custody since April 29, 2015.

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