French senior military official investigated for suspect spying for Russia

The French government is investigating a senior military officer over a “security breach”, the defence minister has said, following a report the person was suspected of spying for Russia.

The Guardian reports Minister Florence Parly saying :“What I can confirm is that a senior officer is facing legal proceedings for a security breach.” She gave no further details.

According to reports, the officer was a lieutenant-colonel stationed with Nato in Italy and had been placed under investigation on suspicion of spying for Russia.

France 24 quotes a judicial source which confirmed that a senior officer had been indicted on charges involving “intelligence with a foreign power that undermines the fundamental interests of the nation”.

He is being prosecuted for “delivering information to a foreign power” as well as “collecting information harming the fundamental interests of the nation with a view to delivering them to a foreign power” and “compromising the secrecy of national defence”, the source said.

The man was arrested by DGSI intelligence service as he was about to leave for Italy at the end of his holidays in France and is being held at a prison in Paris, according to Europe 1. The official speaks Russian and was seen in Italy with a man identified as an agent of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service, Europe 1 reported.

via Europe 1, France 24, The Guardian, Reuters, AFP