REVIEW TOPICS:
Czech Republic had evidence for expelling even five Russian diplomats – weekly magazine
Russian security services revealed foreign spies at MAKS-2009 airspace show
Russian secret services have been hiding freighter Arctic Sea crew members
Too sophisticated game if Moscow agreed with Mossad’s plan to hijack all-Russian ship to stop Iran arms shipment
Russian popular newspaper tells about alleged hijackers of cargo vessel Arctic Sea
Russian Federal Security Service officer shot policeman dead in quarrel at parking lot in Moscow oblast
Secret CIA prisons near Vilnius is a myth: former Interior Minister of Lithuania
Czech Republic had evidence for expelling even five Russian diplomats – weekly magazine
According to Prague-based weekly magazine Respekt, the Czech Republic had allegedly evidence on the basis of which it would have the right to expel not only two, but four up to five Russian diplomats.
The weekly notes in its latest issue that it would be problematic to expel so many Russian diplomats as every country usually reacts to the step by expelling the same number of diplomats from the other country. Thus the Czech Republic would risk losing all its intelligence agents in Russia as the Czech secret services have some five people at the Czech Embassy in Moscow, while at least 100 Russian agents are operating in the Czech Republic, Respekt writes.
The expulsion of two alleged Russian spies from Prague was allegedly the culmination of an 11-month-long fight between NATO and Russia about "breaking up Russia's international and well-organised network of agents who were gathering information in the NATO member states, crucial to keep security and freedom of the West," news agency CTK reports. Respekt points out that NATO's defence operation was launched last September by arresting Estonian Defence
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Ministry official Herman Simm on suspicion of espionage in favour of Russia. “Simm indirectly led the local secret service to two spies at the Russian embassy in Prague." After his arrest Simm testified about "an extensive network of Russian spies who are operating in various NATO member countries," Respekt marks.
AIA reported earlier this month that the deputy military attache of the Russian Embassy in Prague had been expelled from the Czech Republic and another diplomat had been recommended not to return from holiday. The Czech military intelligence service has allegedly gained information that both diplomats work for the Russian secret services, Czech media was reporting. The Interfax agency reported that Russia had reciprocally expelled two Czech diplomats in reaction to the Czech decision.
Former Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg told daily Pravo that the Czech Republic had decided to expel the Russian diplomats this spring but it postponed the act after the Czech EU presidency held in January-June and the EU-Russia summit.
Respekt writes that Schwarzenberg and then Defence Minister Vlasta Parkanova decided on the expulsion in late April and the Czech Republic informed the Russian Embassy about it beforehand. "We have tried to find out where it leaked, and it cannot be ruled out at all that Russians were the first to release it to show our untrustworthiness and make our relations more tense," Respekt cites its source from the Foreign Ministry as saying.
Russian security services revealed foreign spies at MAKS-2009 airspace show
MAKS 2009 aviation and space show in Moscow suburb has ended with an espionage scandal, online paper Life.ru reports. Before closing of the show in the territory of Zhukovsky airfield confidential for visitors the secret services have detained two citizens of the Netherlands. This is already the second such incident such at MAKS airspace shows for the last few years, Life.ru adds.
As it became known to the online paper from sources in Russian law enforcement bodies, the tourists from Holland have "casually” entered a confidential hangar. As Zhukovsky is a military airfield, all premises there are confidential, according to the source of Life.ru. Exhibition halls were allocated specially for the MAKS-2009 airspace show. The remained hangars have remained the secret technical zones.
The two Dutchmen got into one of such confidential hangars. The rapid reaction group detained infringers and delivered them to the operative staff.
At the check the citizens of the Netherlands have produced the documents certifying that they are employees of an Internet edition 4 Airplans which specializes in planes. They explained that they have noticed from the accessible territory the planes which have been not intended for display (there are many airplanes in the closed premises) and have decided to take pictures there.
According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the two infringers have already been noticed at an air show in Zhukovky last year. To avoid a scandal all the pictures made in the technical zone were removed from the cameras. The two Dutchmen were sent away and warned about the rules of behaviour. They may face problems with obtaining the Russian visa next time, Life.ru marks.
Russian Federal Security Service officer shot policeman dead in quarrel at parking lot in Moscow oblast
In Russia’s Moscow area an officer of the Federal Security Service (FSB) fired from an automatic machine-rifle at an employee of the Ministry of Interior as both security forces members failed to agree on a parking lot near a residential building, online paper Life.ru reports.
The conflict between the policemen and the employee of the secret service which ended with shooting has occurred in Dmitrovsk area of Moscow suburbs, online paper notes. As a result the employee of the Interior Ministry was sent to a hospital with a gunshot wound; the offender is detained, Life.ru says.
According to the preliminary investigation, the 27 y.o. Roman I., the Lobna police station employee, arrived to the village of Ozeretskoye to visit his mother. He parked his vehicle at the house No130 of the Sadovaya Stret, and in some minutes heard sounds of impacts. The policeman was astonished to see that had been breaking his vehicle, Life.ru expands.
Having run out in the street, Roman I. rushed to protect his property. The offender who lives in the neighbouring house took the automatic gun and repeatedly shot at the policeman then. As it has appeared, the victim’s opponent was a security service officer, Life.ru adds.
Russian secret services have been hiding freighter Arctic Sea crew members
According to some media outlets, the Russian secret services have been hiding the crew members of of the Arctic Sea in one of Moscow hotels, radio Ekho Moskvy reports. They have provided them with meals, warm clothes and have lodged in one of the capital city hotels. Online paper Life.ru writes that the secret services are suspecting that an accomplice of the alleged hijackers can be among the sailors of the freighter. The location of the vessel’s crew members is kept in secret even from their relatives. At the same time they have been at last given an opportunity to call home. However, Life.ru adds, during the phone conversation there has always been along a person who supervised the conversation to not allow the sailors tell anything about their place of stay. Representatives of investigation say that the freedom of movement is given to sailors, however, the online paper specifies that they still are under the control of secret services.
Meanwhile the employees of the Investigative Committee of the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office have been checking authenticity of citizenship of the arrested suspects in the case on disappearance of the cargo vessel. According to Latvian daily newspaper Telegraf, some of the alleged pirates have specialized on stealing of cars for resale. One of the suspects, a 30 y.o. resident of the Estonian capital Tallinn has even once tried to seize a coach, as daily Komsomolskaya pravda reports.
At the same time a secret service official has reportedly told online paper Life.ru that crew members of the Arctic Sea will return home already in a week.
Too sophisticated game if Moscow agreed with Mossad’s
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One of detained alleged 'pirates' |
plan to hijack all-Russian ship to stop Iran arms shipment
While the eight hijackers originally claimed to be environmentalists when they boarded cargo ship the Arctic Sea in the Baltic Sea in Swedish waters on July 24, it is difficult to believe that they were acting in collaboration with the Russian intelligence. It would remind of a Hollywood thriller if the eight suspects with criminal past had concluded a pact with Moscow indeed and agreed to let them be detained for future renumeration and with an aim of covering Russia’s arms deal with Tehran.
However, this is a version of the mystery surrounding the recent hijacking of the freighter. It has taken a new twist with reports claiming the alleged hijackers were acting in league with Israel’s Mossad in order to halt a shipment of modern weapon systems hidden on board and destined for Iran, The Jerusalem Post online edition reports.
The daily refers to the Moscow-based newspaper Pravda which concluded that the ship was hijacked by Mossad agents because of reports it was supposed to carry cruise missiles to Iran, but that "a Western power that has relations with Ukraine" prevented this. The site also claims that Russia planned on relaying the weapons to Algeria as a stopover before heading to Iran. According to the report, Russia has transported weapons to Iran in this manner in the past. This report was also quoted in a number of Arab media publications.
According to Ukrainian online paper Obozrevatel, Russia responded hysterically when it found out that the information had been leaked to "a Western power." The websites also reported that the ship's crew was aware of the fact that they were carrying unusual cargo, but did not know exactly what it was. None of the various Russian and Ukrainian news reports identified which country is behind the hijacking "operation," The Media Line News Agency notes.
The names of the alleged hijackers, Estonian national Yevgeny Mironov, citizens of Russia Dmitry Yuryevich Bartenev, living in Tallinn, Estonia, and Andrei Lunyov, citizen of Latvia Vitaly Lepin and four Russian-speakers with no citizenship, Igor Borisov from Estonia, Alexei Borisovich Buleyev, Latvian resident Dmitry Savin and Alexei Andryushkin whose citizenship was not established, does not make one believe at once that they are Mossad agents.
The Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported over the weekend that the vessel Arctic Sea had been carrying x-55 cruise missiles and S300 anti-aircraft rockets hidden in secret compartments among its cargo of timber and sawdust. The paper’s columnist Yulia Latynina marked that Shimon Peres's visit to Moscow the day after the Russians recaptured the vessel had been motivated by an urgent request to his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, to refrain from arming Iran. The Federal Security Service (FSB) was ordered to engage the search operation, too, and Russian Navy tracked the vessel down three weeks later and recaptured it near the West African archipelago of Cape Verde on August 17, thousands of kilometers from its original destination of Algeria.
Brigade-General (Res.) Shlomo Brom, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies, did not rule out Israeli covert action against Iranian efforts to acquire nuclear arms, but doubted Israel would take action against Russian ships, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Russian popular newspaper tells about alleged hijackers of cargo vessel Arctic Sea
It appeared that six out of eight of the alleged hijackers of the cargo vessel the Arctic Sea are residents of the Estonian capital of Tallinn. Moscow-based daily newspaper Komsomolskaya pravda expands that all the six are residents even of one and the same Tallinn district, Lasnamaae, which is traditionally inhabited by Russians. Almost all of the six men lived in one court yard. One of them is a citizen of Estonia, two are citizens of the Russian Federation, and three persons are without citizenship who have residence permit in the European Union.
Tje 33 y.o. ‘Boulya’ (Alexei Buleyev) is said to be the most unsuccessful of all the company. He has used much marijuana and alcohol, was engaged in racketeering. He has spent two prison terms, got many tattooes in prison, and even once attempted to seize a coach in the Estonian city of Paldiski.
Other alleged ‘pirate’, the 42 y.o. Dmitry Bartenev has lived in the next apartment house. Dmitry, too, has been imprisoned for drug sale. According to Komsomolskaya pravda, he writes on his Internet website that he has served in the preparatory group of Russian Marine Corps. The paper notes that all ancestors of the Bartenevs have been Russian generals and are buried in Moscow at prestigeous Nobodevichye cemetery.
The nickname of the 30 y.o. Yevgeny Mironov is the Killer. His friends, Denis from Russia’s St.Petersburg and Edik from Ireland, suppose that Yevgeny has been involved in the crime by „someone big and strong”. They think it could never get into his head to join a group of hijackers.
The 45 y.o. Igor Borisov who also has spent a prison term, 44 y.o. Andrey Lunyov (a former Russian military) and 28 y.o. Alexey Andryushin also belong to this Tallinn company, the paper adds. The remainder, alleged ‘pirates’ Vitaly Lepin and Dmitry Savin are Russians from neighbouring Latvia, Komosmolskaya pravda notes.
Secret CIA prisons near Vilnius is a myth: former Interior Minister of Lithuania
The former Minister of Interior of Lithuania, currently the parliament member of the ruling faction of the Liberal-Centrists, the vice-speaker of the parliament Raimondas Sukys, today initiated creation of the parliamentary commission which could lead its own investigation and publicly answer whether there were secret United States CIA prisons in Lithuania, news agency Regnum reports.
Last week, former CIA officials told ABC News that the prison in Lithuania was one of eight facilities the CIA set-up after 9/11 to detain and interrogate top Al-Qaeda operatives captured around the world. They told ABC News that Lithuanian officials had provided the CIA with a building on the outskirts of capital city of Vilnius, where as many as eight prisoners suspected of contacts with Al-Qaeda were held for more than a year, until late 2005 when they were moved because of public disclosures about the program.
Sukys declared that in his opinion, secret CIA prisons "is a myth" as no information on similar establishments existed in Lithuania those years when he headed the Ministry of Interior.
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