Australia rejects Russia's criticism of arrest of spy couple
After the arrest of a Russian couple for espionage charges, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed criticism from Russia. The criticism was "unfounded," Albanese said on Saturday, as Moscow engages in espionage activities "here and around the world." He therefore called on Russia to "retract" at an event in the city of Brisbane.
The Australian police arrested a 40-year-old woman and her 62-year-old husband in Brisbane on Thursday, who, in addition to Russian citizenship, also hold Australian citizenship. They are accused of gaining access to military documents related to national security. Officially, they are charged with "preparing to commit espionage." If convicted, the pair face up to 15 years in prison.
The Russian embassy in Canberra criticized the arrest on Friday and accused the Australian authorities of using the online service X to "stoke another wave of anti-Russian paranoia in Australia" with the arrest and media reports about the case. The embassy added that they had requested official written information about the case from the Australian authorities.
According to police, the 40-year-old woman had worked as an IT technician for the Australian army for several years. During a longer leave, she "unannounced" traveled to Russia and told her husband how he could log into her work account. Her husband then sent the requested material to her in Russia. Whether the data was actually transferred to Russian institutions is, according to police, part of the investigation.
The Russian embassy in Canberra strongly criticized the arrest of the Australian-Russian spying couple, suggesting that Australia is using the incident to fuel anti-Russian sentiment. Despite this critique, Prime Minister Albanese maintained his stance, stating that Russia's espionage activities are a global concern and calling on Russia to retract its statements.
The Australian government is currently investigating whether the spying couple, who hold dual citizenship, successfully transferred military documents to Russian institutions during their suspected espionage activities.
