VILNIUS, December 24. /TASS/. The Klaipeda District Court has ruled that a Lithuanian citizen charged with spying for Russia will remain in custody until March 14, the Baltic News Service reported, citing court sources.

"The suspect will remain in custody for he has been charged with a serious crime, as well as in view of his foreign ties, which he could use to escape justice," a court spokesperson said. According to her, the court’s hearing of the case is scheduled for January 8. "It has been decided to hold closed-door hearings to make sure that state secrets are preserved," the spokesperson added.

According to the Lithuanian military intelligence agency, the arrested Lithuanian citizen, born in Russia in 1974, collected information about Lithuania’s Navy, NATO’s warships visiting the port of Klaipeda, military cargos and the port’s LPG terminal, to hand it over to a Russian intelligence service. The prosecution said that though the suspect had collected non-classified information, his actions could be considered as criminal since he had allegedly acted on instructions from a foreign intelligence service.

Espionage fever

Espionage-related reports dominated the Lithuanian media in the past week. On Wednesday, Lithuanian State Security Department Director Darius Jauniskis said that the country’s law enforcement agencies had identified a group, whose members had allegedly been gathering information on instructions from Russia’s intelligence agencies. He said that opposition politician Algirdas Paleckis, allegedly involved in those activities, had been detained over a month ago.

On Tuesday, Lithuanian police detained Russian national Valery Ivanov in the country’s capital of Vilnius for alleged weapons possession. Police said firearms had been found during a search of his apartment. Police sources added that the investigation would later clarify whether Ivanov’s detention had anything to do with an investigation against Paleckis. However, Ivanov was released from custody on Wednesday.

Following these incidents, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Lithuania’s actions were yet another illustration of the country’s anti-Russian policy and a departure from democratic principles.