Selling State Secrets To Russia, Italian Navy Captain Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison

JAKARTA - An Italian Navy captain was found guilty on Thursday for selling secrets to Russia and was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a military court.

Walter Biot (56) was arrested in 2021, when he provided information to employees of the Russian Embassy in a parking lot in Rome.

Italy later expelled two Russian diplomats and accused Biot of selling documents, including NATO secret documents, for 5,000 euros.

His lawyer said Biot did not submit any sensitive material, announcing on Thursday it would appeal the ruling. Previously, military prosecutors demanded life imprisonment.

"Biot trades in secret and is caught red-handed," prosecutors said.

"He showsmen and high-level criminal abilities, but also sad greed," he said.

Last year's court detailed some allegations against Biot when it rejected his request to be released pending trial.

It said Biot had given its Russian contacts a memory card containing 181 photo documents and images from its computer. Of that number, 47 of them were marked 'NATO secret' and 57 others were marked 'NATO confidence'

Italian media said the document contained information about the war against Islamist militants in Libya and Syria.

Prosecutors said Biot was caught on camera on three separate occasions in March 2021, taking photos with his cell phone from images on his office's computer screen.

At the time of his arrest, Biot had the rank of frigate captain, but worked at the Ministry of Defense tasked with developing national security policies, managing ties with Italian allies.

Biot's lawyer said his client was not ideologically encouraged and never submitted documents that could "danger Italy or other countries".