Soldier faces multiple

A soldier who led a white nationalist group has been charged with espionage, and is the first person to face such an accusation of threatening New Zealand’s security by giving information to another country or foreign organisation.

The Defence Force yesterday said the soldier, who has name suppression, would face a court martial on 17 charges including multiple counts of espionage, attempted espionage, accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes, and possessing an objectionable publication.

A date for the court martial hearing has not been set.

Much of the detail of the allegations remains unknown, including the information the soldier obtained and which country or foreign organisation he shared the information with.

A friend close to the soldier’s family said they were shocked at the charges. The soldier, who was 27 years old when he was arrested at Linton Military Camp in December, now faces the possibility of 14 years in prison.

Stuff previously revealed the soldier’s connections to Far-right, white nationalist groups, leading authorities to question him after the March 15 terror attack. A group the soldier led, the Dominion Movement, shut down after the terror attack but later reorganised under a new name.

The soldier continued to be involved in Far-right groups after the March 15 attack, Stuff understands, and had been planning to fly out to Russia with his partner a week after his arrest.

A friend close to the soldier’s family told Stuff it had already been a ‘‘tough year’’ for the family.

‘‘Understandably they are in shock and need time to digest what is coming. I can’t stress enough that [he] comes from a