26 Nov 2020

Linton Military Camp soldier charged with espionage

From Morning Report, 7:49 am on 26 November 2020

A soldier based at the Linton Military Camp in Manawatu has been charged with espionage and a raft of other charges.

A punishment of up to 14 years' imprisonment could be meted out to the soldier, who was arrested last December.

He faces 17 charges in total, including three charges of accessing a computer for dishonest reasons.

It is nearly 50 years since any New Zealander faced charges related to military spying or espionage.

Professor Al Gillespie is from the Waikato University law faculty. He has an expertise in the military and counter-terrorism and is concerned at reported links between the soldier and a far-right extremist group.

He speaks to Susie Ferguson.