The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) announced the arrest of a Russian military intelligence officer trying to get a job as an intern at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
This is stated in a statement on the agency's website, Radio Svoboda reports.
The detainee used a fake Brazilian identity card to get himself an intern at the International Criminal Court. This institution, in particular, investigates crimes committed during the war between Russia and Ukraine.
According to the head of the AIVD, Eric Ackerbum, the real name of the detainee is Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov. He wanted to enter the Netherlands under the name Victor Müller Ferreira.
Cherkasov, according to AIVD, intended to get an internship at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and thus gain access to classified data. Including regard to possible war crimes committed by Russian military personnel in Georgia in 2008 and in Ukraine in 2022. The detained Cherkasov was deported to Brazil.
AIVD in December 2020 announced that it had uncovered a secret operation by an Russian Foreign Intelligence Service employee. He worked at the embassy in The Hague with diplomatic accreditation and was involved in espionage activities in science and technology. He was assisted by another Russian Foreign Intelligence Service officer, who also had diplomatic accreditation and worked at the embassy. The Dutch Foreign Ministry has declared two intelligence officers persona non grata. The names of the diplomats were not named.
