JAKARTA - The British embassy security guard in Berlin, Germany was jailed for more than 13 years. He was dragged into a case of alleged spying for Russia.
David Ballantyne Smith, 58, from Paisley, Scotland, copied the classified documents he found in an unlocked archive cupboard and on the table at the embassy. One of them was a letter to the former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
He also leaked the details of the staff involved in the defense work. Including their home address and phone number as well as copying personal photos of the staff's brother, storing the material to USB under the name "Berlin holiday PicsNew".
One of the very sensitive documents was written by someone who was only referred to as "Diplomat X". Reportedly, he is the main official dealing with Russia at the embassy.
German police then inside Smith's house had a large Russian Federation flag in the corner of his living room.
On the inside of her locker at the British embassy there is a cartoon of Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, in military uniform, holding the neck of former German chancellor Angela Merkel, in Nazi uniform.
In words in German: Russia, please release us once again There is also a Russian dictionary, reported by the Guardian, Friday 17 February.
Smith pleaded guilty to eight counts under the Official Secrets Act of 1911 and 1920 but claimed he was unintentional. He told the court he only intended to embarrass the embassy.
"If you were really sorry, you wouldn't lie to me at the trial like you did. You are a security guard at the embassy. This is not a senior position but it is a position that gives you high trust and responsibility. It is your job to ensure that the embassy is safe and its staff are safe," said the judge.
Smith was arrested after a letter he wrote to General Major Sergey Chukhrov, a military attach at the Russian embassy to Berlin, disguised as communications by the British embassy, intercepted in November 2020.
MI5 organized an ambush operation, sent one of their "play of roles" officers - as a "Dmitry", a Russian "pedestrian" - wearing face masks, glasses and flat hats and carrying documents hidden in copies of the newspaper's Die Welt.
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