2 jailed in Russia over 'spying' for US, Georgia

A court in Moscow has judged a Serbian national and Russian army officer guilty on charges of espionage for the United States and Georgia.

A Moscow tribunal has sentenced Aleksandar Georgijevic of Serbia to eight years in prison over links to the Pentagon's secret service, the Russian media reported on Friday.

The court statement convicted Georgijevic of collecting 'confidential' records of Russia's military hardware, including the country's Arena, Blokada, Khrizantema-C and Iskander missile programs, as well as R-500 projectiles.

Georgijevic "confessed partial guilt, but confirmed that he knew the information would be handed over to a foreign citizen," the statement reads.

The court exercised 'leniency' toward the 63-year-old Serbian citizen due to his underlying health condition and his 'acknowledgment' of the 'covert operation.'

Russia's Federal Security Service says Georgijevic passed on the country's state secret in 1998 to an American called 'Farid Rafi', who was "working in the interests of the intelligence agency of the US defense ministry."

Georgijevic was arrested in 2007 upon arrival in the Russian capital, the statement added.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, another Russian court committed Dzhemal Nakaidze, a former army officer, to nine years behind bars over ties with Georgia, a former Russian republic.

The Russian martial court convicted 38-year-old Nakaidze of treason and working in collusion with intelligence services in the South Caucasus State of Georgia.

Russia and Georgia fought a short war last year over the independence-seeking provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Russian authorities have abstained from disclosing further information on the latest espionage cases.