For the first time in history, a New Zealand serviceman has been accused of attempting to spy for a foreign state. This was reported by Pravilamag.
During the trial, it was revealed that the soldier said: “I only wanted to leave the country and achieve what I considered to be safety.” According to him, this was his sole motivation.
The investigation began after it became known that the soldier intended to leave the service. This coincided with the period when, following the bloody attack in Christchurch in 2019, police intensified their fight against far-right groups.
According to the information, while trying to resign, he contacted a person controlled by the government. This individual introduced himself as an officer and established communication with the soldier. During their conversation, the accused expressed his readiness to hand over various classified materials — maps of military facilities and photographs. He also stated that it was possible to bring a hidden device into the army headquarters.
During a search of the soldier’s home, police found ammunition, copies of the video depicting the horrific Christchurch massacre, as well as a manifesto containing radical ideas. In court, he admitted being a member of far-right organizations “Action Zealandia” and “Dominion Movement”, although he denied their connection to terrorism.
The court has found him guilty, and the sentence will be announced in the coming days.
It should be noted that this is the second such case in the country’s history. In 1975, a former official accused of treason was acquitted.
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