A Norwegian court on Thursday remanded a Russian citizen accused of spying for two more weeks in a case that triggered outrage in Moscow.
The man, identified as Mikhail Bochkarev in court documents, was arrested on September 21 at Oslo Airport after attending an inter-parliamentary seminar in the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting.
The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) seized Bochkarev after witnesses said he was behaving strangely. He is suspected of collecting data information in the parliament.
Slamming the accusations as "false" and "absurd", Russia on September 24 summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Moscow in protest.
"I participated and made recordings of the discussions," Bochkarev was quoted as saying on Thursday by the Norwegian news agency NTB.
"I behaved exactly as I did at previous events," said the Russian who appealed the decision of the Oslo district court.
Norwegian officials regularly accuse Russia of attempted hacking and espionage.
In April, a Norwegian man, Frode Berg, was arrested in Russia also on suspicion of spying.
Berg admitted to having helped the Norwegian intelligence services by acting as a courier several times, but said he did not know the purpose of what he was delivering.
On Monday, his detention was extended by two months pending trial.
In Norway, some observers see the arrest of Bochkarev as a possible bargaining chip for Berg, but Norwegian intelligence services have declined to comment.
A Norwegian court on Thursday remanded a Russian citizen accused of spying for two more weeks in a case that triggered outrage in Moscow.
The man, identified as Mikhail Bochkarev in court documents, was arrested on September 21 at Oslo Airport after attending an inter-parliamentary seminar in the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting.
The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) seized Bochkarev after witnesses said he was behaving strangely. He is suspected of collecting data information in the parliament.
Slamming the accusations as “false” and “absurd”, Russia on September 24 summoned the Norwegian ambassador to Moscow in protest.
“I participated and made recordings of the discussions,” Bochkarev was quoted as saying on Thursday by the Norwegian news agency NTB.
“I behaved exactly as I did at previous events,” said the Russian who appealed the decision of the Oslo district court.
Norwegian officials regularly accuse Russia of attempted hacking and espionage.
In April, a Norwegian man, Frode Berg, was arrested in Russia also on suspicion of spying.
Berg admitted to having helped the Norwegian intelligence services by acting as a courier several times, but said he did not know the purpose of what he was delivering.
On Monday, his detention was extended by two months pending trial.
In Norway, some observers see the arrest of Bochkarev as a possible bargaining chip for Berg, but Norwegian intelligence services have declined to comment.
