Russian man gets 12 years jail term for spying, seeking escape to Germany

A Russian man who tried passing secrets to the German government in exchange for help moving there has been handed 12 years jail for treason, a Russian court said.

Since Russia launched its assault on Ukraine two years ago, authorities have levelled treason charges against dozens of people it accuses of aiding Kiev and the West.

The 46-year-old resident of Siberia's Omsk region gathered secret military information and "tried to establish contact" with a German official, Omsk regional court said on Thursday.

Security services detained the man in June 2023 and found him in possession of a flash drive containing the coordinates of Russian military units, according to local media reports.

The defendant was motivated by a desire to obtain "assistance in moving to Germany for permanent residence" and sentenced to 12 years in a strict regime penal colony, the court said.

Treason is punishable by life in prison in Russia, but rights groups say Moscow regularly applies the charge to opposition figures and critics of its offensive in Ukraine.

Russia's FSB security services said in February they had arrested a US-Russian woman for treason after she was accused of raising funds for the Ukrainian army.