Image Credentials: Image Title: New Zealand Soldier Sentenced for First-Ever Spying Conviction Source: (gemeni) Date: August 2025 Attribution: Created by AI-generated imagery (gemeni), it does not depict a real-world scene.
By Staff Writer | Open Chronicle with Agencies
A soldier in New Zealand has been sentenced to two years in a military prison after pleading guilty to attempted espionage. The soldier, whose name has been suppressed, was also dishonorably discharged from the army. This marks the first-ever conviction for spying in New Zealand’s history.
The sentencing, handed down by a judge and three senior military officers, came after the soldier pleaded guilty to three charges, including attempted espionage and illegally possessing banned materials related to the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks.
In the first spying conviction in New Zealand's history, a soldier is sentenced to two years' detention for attempted espionage for a foreign powerhttps://t.co/8F2tgDX45B pic.twitter.com/Gp04pZhX6I
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 20, 2025
The military court’s documents revealed that in 2019, the soldier believed he was communicating with a foreign agent and attempted to share military secrets. These secrets included base directories, maps, assessments of security weaknesses, and network login details. The charges stated that these actions were “likely to prejudice the security or defense of New Zealand.”
Unbeknownst to him, the “foreign agent” was an undercover New Zealand police officer. Law enforcement had been investigating the soldier as part of a broader operation targeting right-wing extremist groups in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks. A search of his hard drive uncovered a copy of the gunman’s livestreamed video and his manifesto, possession of which is a criminal offense in the country.
During the sentencing, Judge Kevin Riordan stated that while the espionage attempts were “unsophisticated” and “naive,” they were still serious offenses. “There is no such thing as a non-serious act of espionage,” Riordan said.
In a statement read by his lawyer, the soldier claimed his involvement with nationalist groups was “no more than groups of friends.” However, Army Chief Major General Rose King condemned his actions, stating they were “deplorable” and put those who served with him and the public at risk. The soldier had been charged with 17 counts, which were later consolidated into three separate counts. The maximum prison term for these charges ranged from seven to ten years. The last time a spying case reached New Zealand’s civilian courts was in 1975, when a public servant was acquitted.
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