By Cloe Read
An Australian soldier accused of spying for Russia has been unable to read documents in the case against her due to issues with prison management, a court has heard, as federal prosecutors disclosed further evidence to her barrister.
The defence teams for Kira Korolev, 41, and her husband Igor Korolev, 63, have lambasted lengthy delays in the case, as the prosecution on Friday indicated another tranche of files – translated from Russian – was yet to be handed over as part of the brief of evidence.
Mrs Korolev, who was born in Russia, was charged last year in Brisbane, alongside her labourer partner, with preparing to carry out an act of espionage.
Kira and Igor Korolev.
The charges triggered national concerns of foreign interference. Mrs Korolev, an information systems technician, had been in the army for several years, and held Australian Defence Force security clearance.
In the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday, Commonwealth prosecutor Ellie McDonald said there had been additional material disclosed to the defence. She said there would also be a third disclosure of material as part of the brief of evidence.
“There’s a significant volume of material in this matter,” she said, asking for an adjournment of the case. “Significant translations remain outstanding and are currently under way.”
Magistrate Ross Mack asked Mrs Korolev’s barrister: “Is your client to be commended for industry or is it a tardiness on the part of the prosecutor?”
“Well, certainly commended for her patience, I think,” defence barrister George Thomas replied.
Thomas questioned how long the case would draw out, given his client had been in custody since her arrest in July.
“The Commonwealth has got some model litigants, got multiple resources … I’m just concerned about the next brief service, after the third brief service, and how far that’s going to push this out,” he said over the phone from Sydney.
Australian Federal Police at the couple’s unit complex in Everton Park, Brisbane.
McDonald said the material had all been seized, but investigators were continuing to go through it.
“A large volume of the material is in the Russian language, which requires interpretation,” she said. “That material is continuing to be translated.
“The material also involves material from the Department of Defence, which they are required to go through and assess, and then make any objections over that material, which has caused some delay.”
Thomas said given the delays, by the time the defence teams received the full brief of evidence, a trial was not likely to be scheduled for a couple of years.
“And we’ve got a person in custody,” he said.
“We’re only hearing the same statements being made about interpreters and interpreting material,” he said, adding that there was “nothing new” in the evidence disclosed by prosecutors.
“This is about the Commonwealth making a decision to apply the resources that are necessary in order to prepare a brief of evidence for service in a way that complies with the dictates of justice,” he said.
Thomas also used the hearing to ask Mack about an issue his client had faced in custody.
“There’s not much you can do about it, but I’ve been asked to raise the point. My client’s in custody, she needs reading glasses to go through the material, and there’s a breakdown in the management within the prison system,” Thomas said.
Thomas asked Mack to make a recommendation to facilitate reading glasses to his client, to which Mack declined, describing it as a “slippery slope”.
The Korolevs did not appear in court for the case on Friday. Mr Korolev was represented by Legal Aid solicitor Anastasia Stoenko, who asked for action to be taken at the next hearing because there was “no end date” to the evidence disclosures.
The case was adjourned to later in the year, with the pair remanded in custody.
The Australian Federal Police allege Mrs Korolev travelled to Russia while on long-term leave from the army in 2023, and while she was away, told her husband how to log into Defence systems on her official work account from their Brisbane home.
At the time of their arrest, the AFP said the couple had arrived in Australia about 10 years ago, and Mrs Korolev had received her Australian citizenship in 2016. Her husband received his in 2020.
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