Iranian-born brothers imprisoned in Sweden for spying for Russia
Two Iranian-born Swedish brothers were sentenced Thursday to prison after being convicted of spying for Russia and its military intelligence service the GRU for a decade.
Peyman Kia, 42, who had worked for Sweden’s domestic intelligence and armed forces, were sentenced to life imprisonment and Payam Kia, 35, to nine years and 10 months.
“It is beyond reasonable doubt that the brothers, together and in concert, without authorization and for the benefit of Russia and the GRU, acquired, forwarded and disclosed information” to a foreign power with the intent to harm Sweden’s security, says the Stockholm District Court in its judgment.
Most of the trial was held behind closed doors with much of the information from the preliminary investigation secret.
“The elder brother’s espionage falls into the most serious category,” said senior judge Mans Wigen.
“With full knowledge of the damage it would cause, he has obtained, transferred and disclosed information to Russia, which constitutes the greatest threat to Sweden’s security.”
The pair, both naturalized Swedes, had been charged with working together to pass information to Russia between September 28, 2011 and September 20, 2021.
Kias obtained about 100 classified documents from Sweden’s security and intelligence services on behalf of the GRU, and these files were accessed by the older brother while the younger handled contact with Russian agents, the court said.
Prosecutors said the information they gave the Russians came from several agencies within the Swedish Security and Intelligence Service, known by the acronym Sapo.
Peyman Kia worked for the defense force’s foreign defense intelligence agency, known in Sweden by the abbreviation Must, and with a top-secret unit within the agency that dealt with Swedish spies abroad, it was reported.
He was arrested in September 2021 and his brother in November of the same year. Both denied wrongdoing, their defense lawyers told the court.
Payam Kia helped his brother and “disassembled and smashed a hard drive which was later found in a trash can” after his brother was arrested, the charge sheet said.
The case is believed to be one of the most damaging cases of espionage in Sweden’s history, as the brothers had compiled a list of all Sapo employees.
A life sentence in Sweden generally means at least 20 to 25 years in prison.
Updated: January 19, 2023, 1:00 p.m