Austrian Ex-Colonel Suspected Of Spying For Russia Says Disclosed No Top Secrets - Lawyer

A retired Austrian colonel suspected of carrying out intelligence activities on behalf of Russia has given his assurances that he did not disclose state secrets, his lawyer, Michael Hofer, told the Kronen Zeitung newspaper

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th November, 2018) A retired Austrian colonel suspected of carrying out intelligence activities on behalf of Russia has given his assurances that he did not disclose state secrets, his lawyer, Michael Hofer, told the Kronen Zeitung newspaper.

On Tuesday, the regional court of Salzburg rejected the prosecutor's office's request to detain the suspect. He has since been released but has to report to the police every day.

"My client has assured me that he had not disclosed any state secrets. He is very pleased with the decision of the court. He does not feel like a spy," Hofer said in an interview, adding that the military had no access to such data.

The Salzburg prosecutor's office on Tuesday appealed the court's decision, which will be reviewed by the high regional court of Linz.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said last Friday that an army officer had been detained on suspicion of leaking military secrets to Russia between 1992 and 2018. The reports "unpleasantly surprised" Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said the accusations had been unfounded. His Austrian counterpart, Karin Kneissl, canceled her planned visit to Russia.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has urged for the situation to not be dramatized and said that the incident would not jeopardize relations with Moscow in the long run.