Canadian officer who spied for Russia jailed for 20 years

A Canadian naval officer who handed over secrets to Russia for more than four years, damaging Canada's relations with the United States and other key allies, was jailed for 20 years on Friday, Reuters reported.

Sub-Lt. Jeffrey Delisle, dressed in a blue hooded sweatshirt and jeans, showed no reaction when found guilty of breach of trust and handing information to a foreign entity that could harm national interests. He was also fined C$111,817, the sum he received from his Russian spy masters.

Delisle, 41, worked at a security unit in Halifax that tracked vessels entering and exiting Canadian waters. He stole secret information by copying it onto a computer memory stick.

Officials told a sentencing hearing last week that allies had threatened to withhold intelligence from Canada unless it tightened security procedures.

Canada shares sensitive information with the United States, Britain, New Zealand and Australia.

Defence lawyer Mike Taylor said Delisle "is a little bit shocked. It's a significant sentence that he received and one that quite frankly I don't think he was really expecting." Taylor told reporters it was too early to say whether an appeal would be lodged.

Delisle was also given nine years in jail for attempting to communicate information to a foreign entity and five years for breach of trust, with all sentences to be served concurrently.

Taking the time he served in pretrial custody into account, Delisle will spend 18 years and five months in jail.