A pair of brothers originally born in Iran have been convicted by a Swedish court for spying on the country and passing along information to Russia’s military intelligence agency.
The brothers, 42-year-old Petman Kia and 35-year-old Payam Kia, were found guilty of aggravated espionage by a Swedish court this week after spying on the country for a period of around ten years for the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, better known as GRU.
Peyman Kia was sentenced to life in prison for his activities, according to a report from broadcaster SVT, and was the main suspect in the case, having worked in various roles in both the Swedish Security Police (SAPO) and military intelligence, including the Office for Special Acquisition (KDI), a secretive branch of the Swedish security forces.
“It is beyond reasonable doubt that the brothers, jointly and in consultation, unauthorized and in order to provide Russia and the GRU with, acquire, promote and disclose information whose disclosure to a foreign power may cause harm to Sweden’s security,” the court said in its ruling.
According to SVT, the eldest brother managed to procure around 90 documents, with the younger brother contributing 65 of them, though only around half of the documents were shared or promoted to Russian intelligence operatives.
Security Police Chief Charlotte von Essen commented on the case saying, “This is about very serious crime and an employee who has grossly abused the trust. It is something that must not happen, but that we as a security service know can happen. Security and intelligence services are a priority target for foreign powers.”
The two brothers were initially arrested in September of 2021 but details of their activities did not emerge until last year, just prior to their trial. In November, it was claimed that the younger brother had been the contact with GRU and had also arranged payments for the information.
That same month last year, another pair, a Russian couple living in the Stockholm area, were also arrested on spying charges.
Gabriel Wernstedt, press secretary at the Swedish Security Police, commented on the arrests but gave little detail as to who the couple was alleged to have been spying for.