New Zealand army officer cadets move on exercise in the Waiouru training area in the central North Island of New Zealand, May 6, 2022.
A soldier wears a New Zealand army emblem on exercise in the Nausori Highlands in Fiji, Sept.
(Petty Officer Chris Weissenborn/NZ Defence via ).
New Zealand’s army chief Major General Rose King in Wellington, New Zealand, Friday, Sept.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand () — A New Zealand soldier, who admitted trying to spy for a foreign power, was sentenced to two years in military prison followed by discharge from the army.
The sentencing by a judge and a panel of three senior military officers Wednesday came two days after the man pleaded guilty to three charges, including attempted espionage.
It was the first conviction for spying in New Zealand’s history.
The soldier’s name was suppressed, as was the name of the country he sought to pass secrets to.
Military court documents said the man believed he was engaged with a foreign agent in 2019 when he tried to communicate military information, including base telephone directories and maps, assessments of security weaknesses, his own identity card and log-in details for a military network.
The wording of the charge said his actions were “likely to prejudice the security or defense of New Zealand.”.
The soldier wasn’t speaking to a foreign agent, but rather an undercover New Zealand police officer collecting intelligence on alleged right-wing extremist groups, documents supplied by the military court showed.
Judge Kevin Riordan said the espionage attempts were unsophisticated, unlikely to cause harm and naive, but his actions were still serious.
“There is no such thing as a non-serious act of espionage,” Riordan said, according to Radio New Zealand.
