Spanish ex-spy convicted of treason for trying to sell information to Russia

Spanish ex-spy convicted of stealing secrets

MADRID, Spain — A former Spanish intelligence officer was convicted on Thursday of trying to sell secrets to Russia and imprisoned for 12 years, in Spain’s first treason conviction since returning to democracy in 1978 after decades of military dictatorship.

The Madrid Provincial Court said Roberto Florez Garcia, 44, took documents relating to spy recruitment and planned to sell their contents to the Russian Embassy in Madrid.

The verdict said Florez Garcia stole documents with identities of other agents and information on Spanish intelligence facilities.

The court said it did not have conclusive proof that Florez Garcia had actually succeeded in selling or handing over sensitive information.

Florez Garcia worked at Spain’s intelligence headquarters from 1991 to 2004, when he quit. He was arrested on the Canary island of Tenerife in 2007 and went on trial in January. He denied any wrongdoing.

Police found the documents, which included two letters Florez Garcia wrote to Petr Yakovlevich Melnikov, who worked at Russia’s Embassy between 2000 and 2003.

The court said Florez Garcia had deleted one of the letters from his computer but investigators were able to retrieve it using digital technology.

The newspaper El Pais said the CIA tipped off Spanish investigators about Florez Garcia’s activities. Spain’s Defense Ministry, which oversees intelligence operations, told The Associated Press it could not comment on the report.

The court said Florez Garcia had acknowledged possessing classified documents. During the trial he testified that he took them as part of an assignment to point out security gaps in Spanish intelligence.

The court said no one at the intelligence center had authorized such an exercise and that it would have been contrary to normal practice.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects court name to Provincial, sted Superior, ADDS detail, byline.)