MOSCOW, July 31. /TASS/. A former employee of the Russian Krasnodar Territory’s ministry of natural resources has been sentenced to a prison term of 12 years for sharing data that could compromise Russia’s security with a foreign intelligence service.

The verdict has come into force, a spokesman for the third general jurisdiction court of appeals told TASS on Monday.

"The third general jurisdiction court of appeals has verified the legality of the verdict of the Krasnodar territorial court, which convicted a Russian national to 12 years in prison on charges of high treason in the form of espionage. The court established that the Krasnodar resident, a former employee of the Krasnodar Territory’s ministry of natural resources, collected data that could be used against Russia’s security and shared these data with an agent of a foreign intelligence service. The judicial panel on criminal cases upheld the court ruling. The verdict has come into force," the court spokesman said.

The hearings at the court of appeals were initiated by the man’s defense attorneys who demanded that the case be reconsidered and the punishment be reduced.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said on August 19, 2022 that a Russian national nicknamed Archi, who was an agent of the Ukrainian Security Service, had been detained in Krasnodar. A criminal case was opened on charges of high treason.