Is Selling Unclassified Information About the U.S. Embassy In Oslo A Crime?
Espionage
State Department
Crime
Norway charged a 27-year-old contract security guard at the U.S. embassy in Oslo with espionage on July 22 for sharing information about the embassy and its staff with Russia and Iran. The guard, Mohamed Orahhou, did not have a security clearance. His lawyer plans to argue the information wasn’t secret so sharing it wasn’t a crime under Norwegian law.
Information he’s accused of sharing includes:
- a list of couriers from Norway’s intelligence service
- names, home addresses, telephone numbers and vehicle information about diplomats at the embassy and their spouses and children.
- the job functions of embassy employees
- evacuation plans
- pictures of embassy garage facilities and communications equipment
He allegedly received €10,000 Euro from Russia and Bitcoin worth 100,000 Kroner (nearly $10,000 USD) from Iran.
His lawyer told Norwegian media that the guard, who was arrested last year, didn’t dispute the facts, only whether the information was secret under the law and whether selling it harmed Norway’s national interests.
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