Norway To Continue Defending Interests Of Berg Jailed In Russia For Spying - Ministry

Updates with Frode Berg's lawyer's comment to Sputnik in para 3, background information in paras 4-5)- Norway will continue to defend the interests of its national, Frode Berg, whom a Moscow court has sentenced to 14 years in jail for espionage earlier in the day, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Tuesday

STOCKHOLM (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2019) Updates with Frode Berg's lawyer's comment to Sputnik in para 3, background information in paras 4-5)- Norway will continue to defend the interests of its national, Frode Berg, whom a Moscow court has sentenced to 14 years in jail for espionage earlier in the day, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"We have taken note of the verdict. The Norwegian authorities will continue to protect the interests of Frode Berg in the best possible way," Ane Haavardsdatter Lunde, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said.

Earlier in the day, Berg's lawyer, Ilya Novikov, told Sputnik that the Norwegian citizen would not appeal against the judgment because that would postpone an opportunity to file a petition for pardon.

Berg, a retired Norwegian border agent, was arrested in Moscow in December while receiving secret information from a Russian citizen who worked at a defense company and acted under the Federal Security Service's supervision. Berg, 63, is charged with having collected data about Russian nuclear submarines on the instruction of the Norwegian intelligence service.

Berg denies the accusation, while his lawyer, Ilya Novikov, believes that that the man was most likely used as an "unwitting agent."