– It is a severe blow to Russian intelligence if they lose a so-called illegalist. It happens very rarely. They use a lot of resources to create such a spy, Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen tells NTB.
He is the Dean of the Staff School of Norwegian Armed Forces College.
The 37-year-old, accused of espionage by the PST, worked as a guest lecturer at the University of Tromsø. The man is in Norway with a Brazilian passport named José Assis Giammaria (37), but according to the police he is a Russian citizen named Mikhail Valeriyevich Mikushin (44).
– Learning the language and culture of the alleged country of origin alone is challenging in itself, says Karlsen.
There are many doubts
He believes we can take into account that there are many such spies in Norway, but he doubts there are many.
– It is very challenging to build a false identity over the course of many years. It is certainly also challenging for people who have to live a double life abroad for many years. These are complex and challenging operations, says Karlsen.
Such transactions are rarely disclosed. Recent examples include an alleged Brazilian who was expelled from the Netherlands in April and subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison in Brazil. In 2010, the FBI uncovered an alleged network of ten spies from Russia.
– It’s definitely a PST coup if they’ve caught an illegal now. It’s truly unique and obviously good intelligence work that demands respect, says Karlsen.
The alleged spy worked with the Arctic and hybrid threats in his research. The environment is small, emphasizes Karlsen, who was himself invited to participate in a collaborative project with the professional community of the University of Tromsø where the man worked.
– I did not have time. But he worked with preparation and security at the university and was in an environment where he easily comes into contact with others who work with security.
By doing this, he may have obtained important information.
– She may have been following him for a long time
Norwegian police said they cooperated with foreign partners in investigating the case.
– They may have been following him for a long time. It was said that he had a one-way ticket out of the country, so it is conceivable that they chose to go on strike before he disappeared, but this is difficult for us outsiders to assess.
Karlsen believes that everyone in Norway now needs to reconsider how they manage security.
– It has served Norway very well for being an open company for many years. But now we see that this is problematic for countries like China and Russia. A reassessment probably needs to be done in many places, says Karlsen.
