Evidence on accused Russian spy couple ruled secret

The judge ruled that evidence that could lead to the trial of a married couple accused of attempting military espionage for Russia will remain secret for 15 years.

Nearly 200 documents and a Department of Defense witness statement will now be suppressed after a Queensland judge found national security outweighed the principle of open justice.

Russian-born Australian Army private Kira Korolev, 42, and freelance worker Igor Korolev, in his early 60s, were arrested in Brisbane in July 2024.

The Korolev couple were each accused of preparing for the crime of espionage and were detained as detainees.

The Australian Department of Defense and the Australian Federal Police applied for a non-publication order in the Brisbane Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Solicitor Dylan Kerr, acting on behalf of both government agencies, told Deputy Chief Justice Anthony Gett that the orders were necessary to protect Australia’s and partner countries’ defense capabilities.

“It has been a significant effort to review hundreds of documents and evaluate thousands of pages for possible harm to national security,” Mr Kerr said.

Mr Gett approved the applications in the interest of protecting the security of Australia and its people, as well as foreign partners.

“In balancing the principles of jurisdiction vested in this court and taking into account the nature of the importance of open justice, it seems to me that the orders should be carried out,” Mr Gett said.

Suppression orders do not prevent the Korolev family’s defense attorneys from examining the evidence.

The orders also cover only some of the evidence Mr Gett had previously heard; It now consists of more than a million pages of documents and several seized electronic devices.

The names of several Australian Federal Police and Department of Defense witnesses will also be kept secret and will be referred to in court under pseudonyms.

Police allege Kira Korolev traveled to Russia in 2023 while on long-term leave from the defense force without notifying authorities and coached her husband to access his official work account.

She is accused of guiding her husband on how to access certain information and send it to his private email account while he was in Russia.

Mr. Gett was told that if a hearing was held to determine whether one or both Korolevs should be tried, some evidence and witnesses would have to be heard in closed court.

The judge asked Mr Kerr whether the court needed to make a special provision to prevent “inadvertent leakage or error” in the Korolev family’s court files.

Mr Kerr said he would not see an order regarding court security.

“A locked cabinet or a locked safe would be ideal,” he said.

Queensland chief magistrate chambers will now work with the Australian government solicitor’s office to determine how the Korolev case files will be kept safe ahead of any committal hearing.

The Korolev family’s lawyers did not oppose the decision not to publish.

Mr Gett ordered the couple to be remanded in custody until the next hearing of the case on 11 May.