A purported Brazilian researcher, who has been identified as a graduate of the┬аUniversity of Calgary, has been detained on suspicions of being a Russian spy, Norway’s domestic security agency said Tuesday.
Jos├й Assis Giammaria┬аconvocated in fall 2018 with a master of strategic studies, the U of C confirmed in a statement to CBC News on Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking to CBC News, Gunhild Hoogensen Gj├╕rv, a professor in security studies at the Arctic University of Norway, said┬аGiammaria┬аtook a job at her university in December of last year.
Gj├╕rv said┬аGiammaria┬аhad contacted her with a request to participate in research at the university. He sent his resume and grades, and┬аGj├╕rv┬аsaid she followed up with professors at┬аthe University of Calgary.
She said┬аGiammaria┬аworked at the university as a researcher and participated in seminars. She found out about his arrest on her way back from conferences in Canada earlier this week.
“I got a message from the police security service here in Norway┬аthat they wanted to meet with me and my husband right away,”┬аGj├╕rv told CBC News on Tuesday, adding she was later informed by her boss that┬аGiammaria’s office had been “ransacked” and that he had been arrested.
Gj├╕rv said she didn’t think┬аGiammaria would have had access to any information that would be considered classified.
“He┬аalso could use sort of like a general computer in our office. If he’s technologically savvy, then I cannot say anything about what he had further access to with regards to that,” she said.
Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported that┬аGiammaria┬аwas apprehended Monday on his way to his job. The Norwegian Police Security Service told The Associated Press that it┬а“is concerned that he may have acquired information about Norway’s policy in the northern region.”
Thomas Hansen,┬аGiammaria’s lawyer,┬аtold Norwegian newspaper VG that his client denied any wrongdoing.
In 2019,┬аGiammaria┬аwrote an article for The Canadian Naval Review, advocating for the potential of establishing bases in the Canadian arctic.
The editor for that publication,┬аAnn Griffiths, said she receives a variety of unsolicited submissions, one of which was the piece from┬аGiammaria. She said that was as far as his relationship with the publication went.
“The situation is very unsettling,” she wrote in an email.
U of C┬аsaid in a statement that students in the programs are taught by professors and instructors, not military professionals, to build a “well-rounded understanding of the drivers of military, security and strategic decision-making.”
“No access to information is provided that any other student in any other program wouldn’t have,” said the┬аstatement.
“Academic credentials are confirmed through the registrar’s office. Claims of identity and criminal background are the purview of the federal government as part of the immigration process.”
Federal election campaign canvasser in 2015
While┬аhe was in Canada, Giammaria volunteered for Sean Devine’s┬аpolitical campaign┬аas an election worker in 2015. At the time, Devine was seeking to represent the riding of┬аOttawa-Nepean for the NDP.
Speaking to CBC News on Tuesday night, Devine┬аsaid he didn’t remember him well, but recalled that┬аGiammaria was a good speaker.
“He had a really impressive resume,” added┬аDevine, who now sits on Ottawa city council. “He was a good volunteer.”┬а
Devine said he has not been in contact with Giammaria since his┬аcampaign work seven years ago.
