MOSCOW. July 27 (Interfax-AVN) - The prosecution has opened its case against Igor Vyalkov, a Federal Security Service official charged with spying for Estonia.
Vyalkov denies the charges against him.
The case against him opened on Monday in the Moscow District Military Court, said Yevgeny Komissarov, press officer for the court.
The court on Tuesday was scheduled to hear testimonies from several witnesses and to review some of the case material.
The trial is being held in the Lefortovo detention facility and is closed to the press, Komissarov said.
Lieutenant-Colonel Vyalkov has previously worked for the Federal Border Guard Service, which is now part of the Federal Security Service. He is charged with high treason in the form of espionage and illegal border crossing.
Prosecutors allege Vyalkov collected classified information relating to Russia's security and passed it to a foreign intelligence service in exchange for money in 2001 and 2002. During this time, Vyalkov traveled abroad illegally several times, the prosecution alleged. Prosecutors say it was during one of these trips, allegedly to pass information to foreign intelligence representatives, that he was apprehended.
He has been held in the Lefortovo detention facility since then, awaiting the trial.