Swedish appeals court upholds life sentence in Russia espionage case

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s highest court has upheld the life sentence for the eldest of two Iranian-born Swedish brothers for spying for Russia and its military intelligence service GRU for a decade. Peyman Kia, a naturalized Swede, was sentenced to life in January in one of the Scandinavian country’s biggest espionage case in decades. His brother, Payam Kia, was given nine years and 10 months. They were found guilty for jointly passing information to Russia between September 2011 and 2021. At first, both brothers appealed the Jan. 19 sentences by the Stockholm District Court. But Payam Kia retracted his appeal last week. The Supreme Court said Thursday that “it has been proven that the older brother procured, promoted and disclosed (information) to the Russian intelligence service GRU.”