High-ranking Swedish official and his brother held on spying charges
Two brothers are being held on "aggravated espionage" charges, said to have taken place between 2011 and 2021. No-one has been found guilty of this crime in Sweden in the last 18 years.
The elder brother, in his 40s, was a high-ranking civil servant and former intelligence official originally arrested on September 20th.
The Dagens Nyheter newspaper reported that he has served in Sweden's security service Säkerhetspolisen - also known as Säpo - and in intelligence units in the Swedish army, including the Office for Special Information Gathering (KSI), the most secret section of the military secret service.
He was originally held on suspicion of spying between 2011 and 2015, but later underwent preliminary questioning for the, in comparison with spying, less serious charge of "unauthorised use of classified information".
The prosecutor in charge of the case has now changed the classification of the suspected crime again, to more serious espionage charges now spanning a decade, between 2011 and 2021. This classification change was discussed in court today and has now been approved, so he will remain in custody.
The younger brother - 35 years old - was arrested earlier this week for "aggravated espionage" said to have taken place over the same time period.
Säpo said in a statement that the arrest was made in "central Sweden," confirming that the two cases are connected.
Arrest hearings against the younger brother are now also concluded, and the two men are both being held on the same charges.
The brothers deny all charges against them.
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The elder brother, in his 40s, was a high-ranking civil servant and former intelligence official originally arrested on September 20th.
The Dagens Nyheter newspaper reported that he has served in Sweden's security service Säkerhetspolisen - also known as Säpo - and in intelligence units in the Swedish army, including the Office for Special Information Gathering (KSI), the most secret section of the military secret service.
He was originally held on suspicion of spying between 2011 and 2015, but later underwent preliminary questioning for the, in comparison with spying, less serious charge of "unauthorised use of classified information".
The prosecutor in charge of the case has now changed the classification of the suspected crime again, to more serious espionage charges now spanning a decade, between 2011 and 2021. This classification change was discussed in court today and has now been approved, so he will remain in custody.
The younger brother - 35 years old - was arrested earlier this week for "aggravated espionage" said to have taken place over the same time period.
Säpo said in a statement that the arrest was made in "central Sweden," confirming that the two cases are connected.
Arrest hearings against the younger brother are now also concluded, and the two men are both being held on the same charges.
The brothers deny all charges against them.
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