They have denied accusations of espionage, no diplomatic interest in Russians and Ukrainians

2022-08-24 10:35:00, Aktualitet CNA

They have denied accusations of espionage, no diplomatic interest in Russians

Illustrative photo

Two Russian citizens, 33-year-old Svetlana Timofoeva, 23-year-old Mikhail Zorin and Ukrainian Fiodor Mihailovic are expected to appear at 11:00 in front of the Elbasan Court to familiarize themselves with the security measure.

Three citizens have been officially charged with "Giving secret information" and "Providing information" but also with violence due to duty against two Albanian soldiers.

The prosecution suspects that the activity as tourists was used by the 3 citizens to hide an espionage activity. The Euronews Albania reporter reported that from communications with multiple sources in the prosecutor's office and the police of Elbasan, the Russians and the Ukrainians have denied the accusations, even calling them baseless.

They have declared that they are tourists, claiming that they have visited Albania other times for this type of tourist attraction.

There has been no diplomatic interest in defending Russian and Ukrainian citizens, so they will be defended in court by mostly state-appointed lawyers.

Specifically, 2 lawyers from the state have been appointed for Russian citizens, Demir Çiftja, head of the Elbasan Bar Association and lawyer Aldi Kaçi. While the third lawyer will be appointed during the session./euronews