An Oslo court convicted a 28-year-old Norwegian man of espionage on Wednesday, finding that he spied for Russia and Iran while working as a security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Norway. The court sentenced him to three years and seven months in prison.
Prosecutors said the man gave foreign agents details about the embassy’s diplomats, floor plans, and security routines, according to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. They also said the man approached Russia and Iran after growing angry over U.S. ties to Israel and the war in Gaza.
The man accepted the facts in the indictment but denied committing a crime.
Defence Challenges Definition of Espionage
In a Thursday statement, the man’s defence team questioned Norway’s legal definition of espionage.
“He lied about holding security clearance and exaggerated his role,” attorney Inger Zadig from Elden Law Firm said.
Zadig argued that the man had limited access, similar to a janitor, and that the information he shared was useless.
“The data could not harm any individual or threaten any nation’s security,” she said.
The court convicted him on five espionage-related charges but cleared him of gross corruption.
Prosecutor Carl Fredrik Fari said his team may appeal the sentence, noting that the state had requested more than six years in prison. The defence is also considering an appeal.
Norway Tightens Security After Series of Spy Cases
Police arrested the man last November while he was studying security and preparedness at Norway’s Arctic University (UiT). The case marks the second espionage incident linked to the university in recent years.
In 2022, authorities detained a guest researcher at UiT who posed as a Brazilian named José Assis Giammaria. Investigators later identified him as Russian national Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin, one of several people swapped in a prisoner exchange between the West and Russia in 2023.
Norway shares a 198-kilometre border with Russia and has tightened restrictions on Russian nationals since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Norwegian government said last year that it may build a fence along parts of the border to enhance national security.
