Kremlin Confirms Norway's Berg Requested Pardon, Application to Be Studied Statutorily

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Norwegian national Frode Berg, jailed in Russia on espionage charges, has requested a presidential pardon, and his application will be studied in accordance with the law, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Wednesday.

"He is serving a criminal sentence in the form of 14 years of imprisonment on espionage charges, and he has submitted a pardon request to Russian President [Vladimir Putin]. The request is reviewed in accordance with the regulation on the procedure of review of pardon requests in the Russian Federation, enacted by the Russian president's decree, issued on December 28, 2001 ... The procedure is described there," Peskov told reporters.

Berg, a retired Norwegian border agent, was detained in Moscow in late 2017 upon receiving documents that contained classified information concerning the Russian Navy. Last April, a Russian court sentenced him to 14 years in a high-security prison on espionage charges.

Berg has denied the charges, while his defence lawyer has said that he might have been used as a carrier of the classified documents by intelligence officers without being aware of it.