Former Russian Defense Ministry employee sentenced to 12 years for treason

A Moscow municipal court has found former employee of Russia's Defense Ministry Andrey Belyaev guilty of treason. He has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. 

No details on the Belyaev case have been disclosed. The trial was held behind closed doors and the investigation classified as "top secret".

From court documents, it is only known that the defendant was a retired colonel and had a residence permit in Sweden. The court deprived Belyaev of his Russian military rank, his Swedish residency permit, and his Swedish driving license. His Mitsubishi car was also confiscated by the state.

Belyaev's arrest was announced in December 2015. At that point he was the 20th person accused of treason in Russia since the start of the year, at least amongst those known to the media.

In Russia, cases of treason and espionage are usually classified as "secret" and their details were not disclosed.