April  17, 2017

Anna Wood 

A Russian court sentenced a Norwegian man to 14 years in jail for spying information about the nuclear submarine.

Forde Berg, 63, was a former guard at the national boarder between Russia and Norway. He was arrested in Moscow in December 2017 and attempted to deal with this case privately this month.

According to Berg’s lawyer, Ilya Novikov, Berg would not appeal to the verdict, but he would like to request Russia President Putin for a presidential pardon to set him free. Since Berg is now 63 years old, Novikov stated that this verdict was basically a life sentence.

Norway’s Foreign Ministry stated that they found out this verdict but they did not make any comment about this case. The official was trying various methods to bring Berg back to Norway. Based on a ministry spokesperson, Norwegian authorities wished that Berg could have a safe return. 

Berg denied the accusation of spying behavior but admitted having served as messenger for Norwegian intelligence. Details of this case did not reveal publicly since they were classified. 

Last week, President Putin expressed the possibility of pardoning Berg. President Putin said, “We needed to wait for the court proceedings and to have the next steps depending on the court’s decision.” 

Novikov stated that the effective diplomatic communication was the stable way to release Berg. 

Photo:Webshot.