A 40-year-old woman and her husband are accused of trying to access defense secrets on behalf of Russia, according to Australian police. The spy-suspected couple risks up to 15 years in prison.
The spy-suspected woman had previously worked within Australia's defense forces. It was during a trip to Russia, which the defense forces were not aware of, that she and her 62-year-old husband tried to access classified information, reports The Guardian.
The woman is said to have instructed her husband, who remained in Australia, to log in to her work computer from their home in Brisbane and send classified information to her in Russia. Australian police claim that the couple intended to provide the information to Russian authorities.
The two suspects have dual citizenship and have lived in Australia for several years. According to Australian police, the couple was arrested at their home in Brisbane earlier in the week. Russia's ambassador criticizes the allegations and writes on the X platform that the arrest will lead to "another wave of anti-Russian paranoia in Australia".
Now, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is hitting back, saying that Russia "lacks credibility". He accuses Russia of engaging in espionage "both here and around the world."
Albanese also takes the opportunity to criticize Russia for the ongoing war in Ukraine and urges the Kremlin to "stop interfering in other sovereign nations' internal affairs".
This is a country that has no respect for international law and should be treated with contempt, which is what I have for them, he says.
The Russian couple is the first to be accused under Australia's new espionage laws.
