Vienna, Mar 11 (Sputnik/IBNS): A court in Austria's Salzburg ruled on Monday to extend the arrest of a retired Austrian officer suspected of being a Russian spy for an additional two months, a representative of the court told Sputnik.
Austria is leading a probe into the activities of a retired Austrian colonel who allegedly leaked military secrets to Russia between 1992 and 2018.
An Austrian court authorized his arrest on November 30. Monday's ruling was the third time the period of the pre-trial detention for the officer has been prolonged.
"The pre-trial detention has been extended. The next verification of the validity of his detention will take place on May 7 at the latest," the representative said.
Commenting on the spying scandal, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the accusations were unfounded, while Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has urged both sides not to dramatize the situation.
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