New Zealand soldier admits to attempted espionage

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A New Zealand soldier who tried to spy for a foreign power has admitted to attempted espionage in a military court.

Monday’s conviction was the first for spying in New Zealand’s history. The soldier’s name was suppressed, as was what country he sought to pass secrets to.

Military court documents said the man believed he was engaged with a foreign agent in 2019 when he tried to communicate military information including base telephone directories and maps, assessments of security weaknesses, his own identity card and log-in details for a military network. The wording of the charge said his actions were “likely to prejudice the security or defense of New Zealand.”

He wasn’t speaking to a foreign agent, but an undercover New Zealand police officer collecting intelligence on alleged right-wing extremist groups, documents supplied by the military court showed.

The soldier came to law enforcement attention as part of an operation that was established after a March 2019 terrorist attack on two mosques in the city of Christchurch, when an Australian white supremacist opened fire on Muslim worshipers, killing 51.

Officers spoke to the man twice about his involvement in a group, court documents showed, and after the government became aware he had expressed a desire to defect he was contacted by the undercover officer.

When the soldier’s hard drive was searched, investigators found a copy of Christchurch gunman Brenton Tarrant’s livestreamed video of his massacre and a manifesto document he published online before the killings. Possession of either without permission is a criminal offense in New Zealand and the soldier, who admitted that charge too, joins several others convicted in New Zealand of having or sharing the terrorist’s banned material.

In a statement read to the court by his lawyer, the man said the two nationalist groups with which he was involved were “no more than groups of friends with similar points of view to my own,” according to Radio New Zealand.

The lawyer, Steve Winter, added that his client denied supporting the Christchurch shooter’s ideology, RNZ reported.

The soldier — who was based at Linton Military Camp near the city of Palmerston North — also pleaded guilty to accessing a military computer system for dishonest purposes. The amended suite of three charges replaced 17 counts levelled against him earlier in the proceedings.

Each of the three charges he admitted carries a maximum prison term of either seven or 10 years in New Zealand. His sentence was expected to be delivered by a military panel within days after Monday’s conviction.

The man was due to stand trial by court-martial on the charges before he admitted the offenses.

His was the first charge in a New Zealand military court for espionage or attempted spying. The last time such a case reached the civilian courts before was in 1975, when a public servant was acquitted on charges alleging he had passed information to Russian agents.

A spokesperson for New Zealand’s military said they would not comment until the proceedings against the soldier finished.

新西兰惠灵顿——一名试图为外国势力从事间谍活动的新西兰士兵在军事法庭上承认了间谍未遂罪。

周一的定罪是新西兰历史上首例间谍罪判决。这名士兵的姓名以及他试图向哪个国家传递机密信息均被隐去。

军事法庭文件显示，该男子在2019年试图传递军事信息时，认为自己是在与外国特工接触，这些信息包括基地电话簿和地图、安全漏洞评估报告、他自己的身份证以及军事网络登录信息。起诉书称，他的行为“可能损害新西兰的安全或国防”。

军事法庭提供的文件显示，他当时并非在与外国特工交谈，而是在与一名新西兰卧底警察收集有关所谓右翼极端主义团体的情报。

这名士兵因参与2019年3月发生在克赖斯特彻奇市两座清真寺的恐怖袭击而引起执法部门的注意。当时，一名澳大利亚白人至上主义者向穆斯林礼拜者开枪，造成51人死亡。

法庭文件显示，警方曾两次就该男子参与某个组织的情况与其交谈，政府得知他已表达了叛逃的意愿后，便派卧底警官与他取得了联系。

搜查这名士兵的硬盘时，调查人员发现了克赖斯特彻奇枪击案凶手布伦顿·塔兰特直播屠杀的视频副本，以及他在行凶前发布在网上的宣言文件。未经许可持有这些文件在新西兰属于刑事犯罪，这名士兵也承认了这项指控，他与新西兰其他几名因持有或传播恐怖分子违禁材料而被定罪的人一起，成为了新西兰的又一罪犯。

据新西兰广播电台报道，该男子通过其律师向法庭宣读了一份声明，声明中称他参与的两个民族主义团体“只不过是与我观点相似的朋友团体”。

据新西兰广播电台报道，律师史蒂夫·温特补充说，他的当事人否认支持克赖斯特彻奇枪击案凶手的意识形态。

这名士兵驻扎在北帕默斯顿市附近的林顿军事营，他还承认出于不正当目的非法访问军用计算机系统。此前针对他的17项指控被修改为三项。

他承认的三项指控在新西兰每一项最高刑期均为七年或十年。预计军事法庭将在周一定罪后的几天内宣判。

该男子原本应因这些指控接受军事法庭审判，但他承认了罪行。

这是新西兰军事法庭首次审理间谍罪或企图间谍罪的案件。上一次此类案件移交民事法庭是在1975年，当时一名公务员被控向俄罗斯特工传递情报，最终被判无罪。

新西兰军方发言人表示，在对该士兵的诉讼程序结束之前，他们不会发表评论。