A Latvian court has sentenced a 72-year-old former Soviet soldier to eight years in prison for spying for Russia, the Latvian news agency LETA reported, quoted by DPA and BTA.
The Russian citizen was found guilty of collecting publicly available information about political processes, critical infrastructure and military facilities near Riga airport, LETA reports, citing the Prosecutor General's Office.
According to the indictment, the man, who remained to live in Latvia after leaving the Soviet armed forces, traveled to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea coast, where he probably passed the collected information to a representative of the Russian intelligence services.
The man was detained in December, and a search of his home revealed a cache of explosives and ammunition.
Latvia, a former Soviet republic, has a significant Russian minority, DPA notes.