MOSCOW, March 22 (JTA) — Russia has sentenced two former Russian military intelligence officers on charges they spied for Israel. The two were found guilty of selling 200 classified aerial photographs of the Middle East taken by Russian satellites to an Israeli diplomat stationed in Moscow. The sentences were considered relatively mild by legal observers: three years in prison for Lt. Col. Vladimir Tkachenko and a two-year suspended sentence for Lt. Col. Gennady Sporyshev. The charges brought against a third officer were dismissed. The man, identified as Col. Alexander Volkov, was suspected of transferring satellite photographs of Iraqi territory to Israel. During the investigation, the man allegedly said that he was only fulfilling his duty. “Israel is Russia’s strategic partner and Saddam [Hussein] is a terrorist,” a Moscow newspaper quoted him as saying. According to the Kommersant Daily newspaper, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency paid as much as $345,000 for the satellite photos of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel. Russian security sources said this was the first time that Russian security officials were convicted for spying for Israel.
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