A retired Russian secret service colonel was sentenced Wednesday by a military court in Moscow to 13 years in prison for spying for Britain, news agencies reported.
Sergei Skripal was found guilty of passing along state secrets, the reports said. The newspaper Izvestia reported that Skripal was charged with spying for Britain’s MI6 foreign intelligence agency.
The 55-year-old was accused of working over a period of several years for MI6, in particular revealing the names of several dozen Russian agents working abroad, Izvestia reported. It did not name its sources.
Report: $100,000 received
Skripal is believed by Russian investigators to have received around $100,000 from MI6, said the newspaper.
Russia’s chief military prosecutor expressed satisfaction at the trial’s outcome.
“The conviction of Skripal is lawful and justified,” Sergei Fridinsky was quoted as saying by the RIA-Novosti news agency.
The prosecution and trial of the colonel had not been made public until Wednesday.