US embassy security guard arrested in Norway on spying allegation
The man, who is in his 20s, is a student studying security and preparedness
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A Norwegian citizen working as a security guard at the US embassy in Oslo has been arrested on suspicion of espionage.
The man, who is in his 20s, was arrested while in his garage on Wednesday, according to the Norwegian Police Security Service. On Thursday, a court decided the man could be detained for four weeks, with the first week in isolation, while investigators look into the allegations, according to Reuters.
Norwegian authorities have charged him with attempted aggravated intelligence activities against state secrets, CNN reports. Investigators say he admitted to having collected and shared information with Russian and Iranian authorities.
Police also found records of the man talking with another person who appeared to be guiding his espionage activity, the Associated Press reports.
His attorney, John Christian Elden, told Reuters the man has been in contact with intelligence officers from Russia and Iran.
"He has explained himself about his contact with intelligence agents from Russia and Iran but it is unclear whether he has had secret information that would mean that anti-espionage laws could be used against him," Elden said.
"Further investigation will show whether he is guilty of a crime or not,” he added.
The man cooperated with investigators, according to Thomas Blom, a lawyer for the Norwegian Police Security Service. Blom said police confiscated a “large” amount of digital materials from the man, according to Reuters.
"We have just scraped the top and we are working our way through it," Blom added.
The man is studying security and preparedness at the University of Tromsø — the Arctic University of Norway, according to the AP. He also runs a security company with another unidentified person who is a national of Norway and an unidentified eastern European country.
Police are now investigating the company’s operating license, the AP reports.
A US State Department spokesperson told CNN they “do not comment on allegations related to intelligence or personnel matters, but as always appreciate our close coordination and cooperation with the Norwegian police on a range of critical issues.”
This arrest comes after an Iranian government operative was accused of hiring a pair of New Yorkers he met in prison to carry out an assassination plot against a critic of the regime. He also allegedly admitted to FBI agents that he had been tasked with finding a hit squad to kill President-elect Donald Trump.