Norway to free Russian spying suspect as probe continues

Norway will release a Russian man held on suspicion of spying, although the investigation still continues, police said on Friday. Mikhail Bochkaryov was detained on September 21 at Oslo airport as he was about to leave after attending an international seminar on digitalization in Norway’s parliament. He has denied any wrongdoing. The Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded that Norway drop the “absurd charges” and release Bochkaryov, whom it identified as a member of staff in the Russian parliament’s upper house. Norway’s Police Security Service (PST) had originally sought to extend his detention, but the Oslo District Court on Thursday rejected the request. The PST appealed, but withdrew the appeal on Friday and said Bochkaryov would be released, Reuters reports. “We continue to investigate the case. No decision has been made on whether to file any charges,” PST prosecutor Kathrine Tonstad said, adding that the man “is free to go home.”