Austrian Court Orders Not to Put Col. Suspected of Spying for Russia in Custody

Addressing the espionage case, Moscow protested to Austrian Ambassador to Russia, calling the accusations baseless. In response, General-Secretary of the Austrian Interior Ministry Peter Goldgruber expressed hope that the incident would not undermine Austrian-Russian relations.

Salzburg State Court ruled not to arrest the retired colonel, suspected of espionage, the news agency APA reported on Tuesday.

The Salzburg prosecutor's office previously stated that the suspect may be sentenced up to 10 years in prison.

Following a report of an espionage case, published in the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung on November 9, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz confirmed that a 70-year-old retired Austrian colonel was suspected of spying for Moscow and demanded that Russia provide "transparent" information on the issue. The incident prompted the cancellation of an official visit of Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl to Russia.

READ MORE: Austria Suspects Domestic Intelligence Officer Spied for Russia — Report

According to Vienna, the officer had been spying for Moscow since the 1990s. Austrian media reported that the suspect had confessed to the crimes; however, there is no official information on the matter.