Suspected Russian Spy in Tromsø Studied in Canada and Did Research in Northern Norway

On Monday, a foreign visiting researcher at UiT The Arctic University of Norway was arrested in Tromsø suspected of being a Russian spy. Specifically, he, who has Brazilian citizenship, is suspected of illegal intelligence which could damage Norway's national interests and the security interests of other states. At UiT, he has been part of the research group "The Grey Zone", which studies hybrid threats and Arctic security, among other things.

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) is investigating the case and believes that the man is a so-called illegality with an original Russian identity. The term refers to a person who has over time built up a false identity as an ordinary citizen of another country, while simultaneously working for foreign intelligence, in this case for the Russian side.  PST has asked to deport the man from Norway.

The man's academic background is a master's degree from 2018 in strategic studies from the University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, among other things. He is also said to have stayed in Canada's capital Ottawa in September 2015 and volunteered in local politics there for the social democratic party New Democratic Party, according to VG. The man is said to have arrived in Norway last year for the research stay at UiT, which he himself initiated.

The accused is not appealing the court's decision to detain him for four weeks, writes NRK on Wednesday. At the same time, he disputes the accusation against him, says his defender Thomas Hansen.