Lucrezia Ciotti Walter's Case Biot concerns one of the most well-known recent episodes of alleged espionage military personnel in Italy, linked to the transfer of classified documents to foreign officials. The case concluded after years of trials with the conviction finally upheld by the Supreme Court.
Classified documents sold to Russia: Biot sentenced to 20 years for espionage
As reported byHandle, the Court of Cassation seems to have made the definitive condemnation to 20 years in prison Walter Biot, a Navy officer arrested on March 30, 2021, by the ROS Carabinieri while handing over classified material to a representative of the Russian embassy. The judges of the First Criminal Section dismissed the defense's appeal in its entirety, thus closing the final level of the ordinary proceedings.
The case is part of a complex proceeding, also characterised by the intervention of military justice: in 2024 the Military Court He already had a sentence of 29 years and two months was confirmed, later made definitive by the same Supreme Court in a separate case. Biot was found responsible for espionage and disclosure of classified information, in particular documents classified as “NATO confidential”, as well as corruption for having received approximately 5.000 euros in exchange for the delivery of sensitive material.
The officer is currently being held in Velletri prison.
Biot, sentenced to 20 years for espionage: the judges' reasons and the investigation's framework.
The survey, coordinated by the magistrates Gianfederica Dito and Michele Prestipino, has reconstructed the exchange of confidential documents with a foreign official, highlighting the conscious and remunerated nature of the operation. According to what was stated by Il Sole 24 Ore , the Rome Court of Assizes of Appeal had already confirmed the defendant's responsibilities in the second instance, consolidating the original prosecution case. During the Supreme Court trial, the Attorney General's Office – represented by lawyer Marco Dall'Olio – would have requested the rejection of the appeal underlining the clear separation between the contested conduct and the correctness of the "dual jurisdiction" between the ordinary and military spheres.
According to the indictment, there would have been no procedural irregularities nor violations of the rights of the defense: the witnesses were heard in cross-examination and the evidence was considered consistent. It was also reiterated that the very nature of the stolen documents, regardless of state secrecy, makes them intrinsically not discloseable, a central element of the crime of espionage. In previous rulings, as underlined by The Sun 24 hours, the Court of Cassation had also recognized the damage to the image and international credibility of the Italian State as a direct consequence of the contested facts.