Man accused of being Russian spy in Norway attended universities in Ottawa, Calgary
Global News
Norwegian authorities arrested Jose Assis Giammaria on Monday on suspicion of being an "illegal," a term for someone who is in the country with a false name and false identity.
A man arrested in Norway who is suspected of being a Russian spy has ties to Canada.
Norwegian authorities arrested Jose Assis Giammaria on Monday on suspicion of being an “illegal,” a term that describes someone who is in the country with a false name and false identity.
Police allege Giammaria, described as a Brazilian researcher in the Norwegian press, is actually Russian and works for a Russian intelligence service as a spy.
His lawyer, Thomas Hansen, told Verdens Gang AS news agency in Norway that Giammaria denies the accusations and is in shock.
A 2015 convocation program from Ottawa’s Carleton University shows Jose Assis Giammaria graduated with a bachelor of arts in political science with a concentration in international relations and a minor in communications studies.
Sean Devine, who was recently elected as an Ottawa city councillor, said he remembers Giammaria as a canvasser on a campaign for the federal NDP in 2015.
“I didn’t know he was what people are saying he is,” Devine said in an interview with The Canadian Press. “He was the same as any other volunteer on my team.”
Devine said Giammaria was a good volunteer and the only thing that was unusual about him was that he wasn’t from Ottawa.