London court sentences 6 Bulgarians to prison terms for spying for Russia: Police
"A group of six Bulgarians living in the UK have been jailed for a combined total of more than 50 years for being part of a spying operation across Europe on behalf of Russia," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Monday.
Orlin Roussev, Bizer Dzhambazov, Katrin Ivanova, Ivan Stoyanov, Vanya Gaberova and Tihomir Ivanchev were given sentences ranging from 5 years and 3 months to 10 years and 8 months, the statement read.
According to the police, Ivanova, Gaberova and Ivanchev were found guilty of "conspiracy to spy," while Roussev, Dzhambazov and Stoyanov pleaded guilty to espionage before the trial began.
The activities of the convicted were aimed, in particular, against investigative journalists, the statement noted, adding that the group also planned to organise protests in London, "carried out surveillance" at a US military facility in Germany, where they believed Ukrainian soldiers were being trained, and spied on a man "who was designated as a 'foreign agent' by Russia" in Montenegro.
In August 2023, UK media reported that five Bulgarian citizens were detained in the United Kingdom on suspicion of spying allegedly for Russia. The Crown Prosecution Service gave permission to charge them with spying for Russia in September of that year.
The suspects named included Roussev, Dzhambazov, Ivanova, Stoyanov and Gaberova.
In February 2024, the London police said that another Bulgarian national, Ivanchev, had also been charged with espionage.
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