Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Court Arrests Suspected Lithuanian Spy – Interfax

Lithuania has said it caught at least four spies working directly or indirectly for Russia in 2014 and so far this year.

Russia arrested a suspected Lithuanian spy on Thursday, a court spokeswoman said, adding to a list of espionage allegations as tensions grow between Moscow and the Baltic states it once governed.

Lithuania, a former Soviet republic with a significant ethnic Russian minority, has complained of increased Russian military activity since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimea region last year.

Court spokeswoman Yulia Skotnikova named the suspected spy as Yevgeny Mataytis, a citizen of both Russia and Lithuania.

"Mataytis is suspected of gathering secret information and sending it abroad, he has been arrested," news agency Interfax reported her as saying.

Lithuania has said it caught at least four spies working directly or indirectly for Russia in 2014 and so far this year.

Vilnius said in May it had detained an employee of Russia's Federal Security Service who had been trying to infiltrate the country's leadership and security forces. Weeks later, Russia arrested a man it said was a Lithuanian military intelligence officer in Moscow.

Mataytis will be detained for two months, Skotnikova said. He faces a prison term of 10 to 20 years if found guilty of espionage under Russian law.

Along with its fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia, Vilnius wants a permanent NATO troop presence on its soil to counter what it sees as an increasing threat from Russia, once dubbed "a terrorist state" by Lithuania's President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more