Gostev and Sokolov have been sentenced to ten and a half years and nine years and three months in prison, respectively, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the State Security Service said on Wednesday.
Both convicts are currently in Russia and have been wanted by Lithuania.
According to the Lithuanian security authorities, the FDD has recruited Lithuanian citizens who have had previous work experience and contacts with current or former employees of various state institutions.
These persons were instructed to collect information on the personnel of the Security Service of the Supreme Officials of Lithuania, as well as on how the personal security of the heads of state, their work premises and place of residence is ensured.
Information has also been collected on technical security systems in an attempt to establish contact with the staff responsible for them.
The accused have provided the recruits with the necessary technical means, instructed them and provided them with funds for the purchase of the necessary communication equipment and payment of visa fees for travel outside the European Union (EU).
The case of Gotev and Sokolov was separated from the case of Nikolai Flipchenko, an officer of the Kaliningrad branch of the FDD.
Filipchenko was detained in 2015. In July 2017, the Vilnius Regional Court sentenced him to ten years in prison, convicting him of espionage, forgery of documents and repeated illegal border crossings.
However, in 2019, Lithuanian President Gitan Nauseda pardoned him. Filipchenko was extradited to Russia in exchange for two Lithuanians convicted of espionage in Russia and one Norwegian citizen.
