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- Lebanon sentences Russian citizen to 8 years over spying for Israel - report
Lebanon sentences Russian citizen to 8 years over spying for Israel - report
Together with his wife and baby, the man was detained at Beirut airport back in July
A Russian national was sentenced to eight years in prison in Lebanon over the allegations claiming he visited the country on a task, spying for Israel. The Lebanese military tribunal acquitted his wife, who was detained by the security forces along with her husband and their baby as the family intended to fly home from Beirut airport back in July, said Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti, citing a source familiar with the case.
Earlier in August, Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar wrote that Chaykin - a reported name of the suspect - visited the southern districts of Beirut gathering information for Israeli intelligence.
"The Russian citizen admitted that he had recently been recruited by Israeli intelligence and was ordered to go to Lebanon to map the location of Hezbollah facilities," claimed the report. The couple was referred to as "a cell" threatening Lebanon.
RIA Novosti quoted the source saying: "The hearing took place in early February. The woman was treated as an accomplice in the crime committed by her husband.
The source added that during the 8-month investigation, Russian diplomats along with the members of the Russian diaspora in Lebanon donated food and basic necessities for the mother and her child.
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