Alleged spy ‘did not know’ target had exposed link to Salisbury poison attack
Alleged spy ‘did not know’ target had exposed link to Salisbury poison attack
Share:
An alleged spy has told jurors she did not know a man she was tasked to follow across Europe was a “good person” who had uncovered Russian links to the Salisbury attack. Bulgarians Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, were allegedly part of a group which carried out surveillance on opponents of the Russian state between August 30 2020 and February 8 2023.
Giving evidence in her defence, Ivanova claimed she was deceived by her partner Biser Dzhambazov, 43, and Orlin Roussev, who have pleaded guilty to spying for Russia. Cross-examining on Monday, Alison Morgan KC suggested Ivanova was a “good actress”, capable of lying “easily” to others.
The prosecutor cast doubt on the defendant’s claim that she was kept in the dark about the operations by Dzhambazov and Roussev. Ms Morgan said: “This person you’ve been in a relationship with for 17 years and this other person who paid the deposit on your house who you considered to be a close friend, they used you for the best part of three years?.
“You were all deceived?. “None of you knew this was all about Russia?”. One of the targets was Bellingcat journalist Christo Grozev who had been awarded for his work uncovering Russian involvement in the 2018 Novichok attack in Salisbury, the court heard.
