Russian sergeant major Dzhemal Nakaidze will spend nine years in jail after a military court in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don convicted him of spying on the behalf of Georgia on Friday.
It has been proven that he collaborated with the Georgian intelligence services from July to November of 2008.
According to the verdict, Nakaidze was recruited during his vacation in Georgia in February of the same year.
The soldier had been feeding Georgian officials sensitive information concerning Russian troop numbers and their positions.
In exchange he was promised a significant paycheck and a flat in the Georgian town of Batumi.
Given the fact that the convict was cooperative throughout the investigation, repented and had government awards, the court imposed a sentence below the average limit of 12-20 years.
Nakaidze, who was also stripped of his military rank, will serve his term in a maximum security penal colony.
It is not the first case in which a Russian military court has convicted a serviceman for spying. In August, an officer was sent to prison for six years on similar charges.