In what has been referred to as one of Sweden’s worst ever suspected espionage cases, two Swedish brothers who are accused of selling secrets to Russia’s intelligence agencies are on trial. The Kia brothers, Peyman, 42, and Payam, 35, are charged with espionage for Moscow during a ten-year period.

The older brother had previously served in the army and security forces of Sweden. Both men deny culpability, and Peyman Kia’s attorney maintains that there is insufficient evidence to support a conviction.

The case was special, according to the prosecutor, Mats Ljungqvist, who told Sweden’s state network SVT that the nation had not seen anything like it “in over 20 years.”

Due to the sensitivity of the subject being discussed, a large portion of the trial is being held behind closed doors. Everyone present in the Stockholm courthouse has undergone security checks, and press access is restricted.

The suspects had access to a list of every single Sapo employee, according to intelligence specialist Joakim von Braun, who called it the worst case of espionage in Sweden’s history. Russian intelligence concentrates on human sources, therefore just that is a big issue, he told SVT.

Peyman Kia reportedly worked in one of Swedish intelligence’s most top-secret divisions, the Office for Special Acquisition (KSI), at one time in his career.

Investigators seized mobile phones, a shattered hard drive, several other storage devices, and papers outlining cash and gold transactions in the months leading up to his and his brother’s arrest in late 2021.

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