Editing Espionage (section)

== Law ==
{{Main|Intelligence law}}
{{Globalize|date=August 2024}}
Espionage against a nation is a crime under the [[legal code]] of many world states.

=== Espionage law in the United States ===
In the United States, it is covered by the [[Espionage Act of 1917]]. The risks of espionage vary. A spy violating the host country's laws may be deported, imprisoned, or even executed. A spy violating its own country's laws can be imprisoned for espionage or/and [[treason]] (which in the United States and some other jurisdictions can only occur if they take up arms or aids the enemy against their own country during wartime), or even executed, as the [[Rosenbergs]] were. For example, when [[Aldrich Ames]] handed a stack of dossiers of U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) agents in the [[Eastern Bloc]] to his KGB-officer "handler", the KGB "rolled up" several networks, and at least ten people were secretly shot. When Ames was arrested by the U.S. [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), he faced life in prison; his contact, who had [[diplomatic immunity]], was declared ''[[persona non grata]]'' and taken to the airport. Ames' wife was threatened with life imprisonment if her husband did not cooperate; he did, and she was given a five-year sentence. [[Hugh Francis Redmond]], a CIA officer in China, spent nineteen years in a Chinese prison for espionage—and died there—as he was operating without diplomatic cover and immunity.<ref>{{cite web|title=CIA Status Improves Contractor's Case for Immunity|url=http://newamericamedia.org/2011/02/cia-status-improves-contractors-case-for-immunity.php|publisher=New America Media|access-date=2013-08-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102085259/http://newamericamedia.org/2011/02/cia-status-improves-contractors-case-for-immunity.php|archive-date=2013-11-02|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

In United States law, treason,<ref>[http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t17t20+1130+29++%28treason%29 treason] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203024319/http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t17t20+1130+29++%28treason%29 |date=December 3, 2012 }}</ref> espionage,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t17t20+486+45++%28espionage%25 |title = espionage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203024325/http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t17t20+486+45++%28espionage%25 |archive-date=3 December 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and spying<ref>[http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t09t12+600+1++%28spying%29%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20 spying] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203024508/http://uscode.house.gov/uscode-cgi/fastweb.exe?getdoc+uscview+t09t12+600+1++%28spying%29%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20 |date=December 3, 2012 }}</ref> are separate crimes. Treason and espionage have graduated punishment levels.

The United States in [[World War I]] passed the Espionage Act of 1917. Over the years, many spies, such as the [[Soble spy ring]], [[Robert Lee Johnson (spy)|Robert Lee Johnson]], [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg|the Rosenberg ring]], [[Aldrich Hazen Ames]],<ref name=jyaames /> [[Robert Philip Hanssen]],<ref name=fashans /> [[Jonathan Pollard]], [[John Anthony Walker]], [[James Hall III]], and others have been prosecuted under this law.

In modern times, many people convicted of espionage have been given penal sentences rather than execution. For example, [[Aldrich Hazen Ames]] is an American CIA analyst, turned KGB mole, who was convicted of espionage in 1994; he is serving a [[life sentence]] without the possibility of parole in the high-security [[United States Penitentiary, Allenwood|Allenwood U.S. Penitentiary]].<ref name="Federal Bureau of Prisons">{{cite web |url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=Ames&Middle=&FirstName=Aldrich+&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=23&y=24 |title=Aldrich Hazen Ames Register Number: 40087-083 |publisher=Federal Bureau of Prisons |work=Bop.gov |access-date=2014-01-03 |archive-date=2012-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919121009/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=Ames&Middle=&FirstName=Aldrich+&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=23&y=24 |url-status=dead }} ''(Search result)''</ref> Ames was formerly a 31-year [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] [[counter-intelligence|counterintelligence]] officer and analyst who committed espionage against his country by [[spying]] for the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Russia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/aldrich-hazen-ames|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013065115/http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/history/famous-cases/aldrich-hazen-ames|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-10-13|title= Aldrich Hazen Ames|publisher=FBI}}</ref> So far as it is known, Ames compromised the second-largest number of CIA agents, second only to [[Robert Hanssen]], who also served a prison sentence until his death in 2023.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Hanssen, F.B.I. Agent Exposed as Spy for Moscow, Dies at 79 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/us/robert-hanssen-spy-dead.html |website=The New York Times |date=5 June 2023 |access-date=5 June 2023 |last1=Baker |first1=Peter }}</ref>

=== Use against non-spies ===
Espionage laws are also used to prosecute non-spies. In the United States, the Espionage Act of 1917 was used against socialist politician [[Eugene V. Debs]] (at that time the Act had much stricter guidelines and amongst other things banned speech against military recruiting). The law was later used to suppress publication of periodicals, for example of [[Father Coughlin]] in [[World War II]]. In the early 21st century, the act was used to prosecute [[whistleblower]]s such as [[Thomas Andrews Drake]], [[John Kiriakou]], and [[Edward Snowden]], as well as officials who communicated with journalists for innocuous reasons, such as [[Stephen Jin-Woo Kim]].<ref name=josh_gerstein1 /><ref>See the article on [[John Kiriakou]]</ref>

{{as of|2012}}, India and Pakistan were holding several hundred prisoners of each other's country for minor violations like trespass or visa overstay, often with accusations of espionage attached. Some of these include cases where Pakistan and India both deny citizenship to these people, leaving them [[statelessness|stateless]].{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} The BBC reported in 2012 on one such case, that of Mohammed Idrees, who was held under Indian police control for approximately 13 years for overstaying his 15-day visa by 2–3 days after seeing his ill parents in 1999. Much of the 13 years were spent in prison waiting for a hearing, and more time was spent homeless or living with generous families. The Indian [[People's Union for Civil Liberties]] and [[Human Rights Law Network]] both decried his treatment. The BBC attributed some of the problems to tensions caused by the [[Kashmir conflict]].<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/43/ws-nowhereman.html Your World: The Nowhere Man] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915061632/https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2012/43/ws-nowhereman.html |date=2019-09-15 }}, Rupa Jha, October 21, 2012, BBC (retrieved 2012-10-20) (Program link: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00z57wt The Nowhere Man])</ref>

=== Espionage law in the UK ===
From ancient times, the penalty for espionage in many countries was execution. This was true right up until the era of [[World War II]]; for example, [[Josef Jakobs]] was a Nazi spy who parachuted into Great Britain in 1941 and was executed for espionage.

Espionage is illegal in the UK under the [[National Security Act 2023]], which repealed prior Official Secrets Acts and creates three separate offences for espionage. A person is liable to be imprisoned for life for committing an offence under Section 1 of the Act, or 14 years for an offence under Sections 2 and 3

==== Government intelligence law and its distinction from espionage ====
Government intelligence is very much distinct from espionage, and is not illegal in the UK, providing that the organisations of individuals are registered, often with the ICO, and are acting within the restrictions of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). 'Intelligence' is considered legally as "information of all sorts gathered by a government or organisation to guide its decisions. It includes information that may be both public and private, obtained from much different public or secret sources. It could consist entirely of information from either publicly available or secret sources, or be a combination of the two."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/the-threats/espionage/what-is-espionage.html |title=What is espionage? |website=MI5 - the Security Service |access-date=2013-08-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101174455/https://www.mi5.gov.uk/home/the-threats/espionage/what-is-espionage.html |archive-date=2013-11-01 }}</ref>

However, espionage and intelligence can be linked. According to the MI5 website, "foreign intelligence officers acting in the UK under diplomatic cover may enjoy immunity from prosecution. Such persons can only be tried for spying (or, indeed, any criminal offence) if diplomatic immunity is waived beforehand. Those officers operating without diplomatic cover have no such immunity from prosecution".

There are also laws surrounding government and organisational intelligence and surveillance. Generally, the body involved should be issued with some form of warrant or permission from the government and should be enacting their procedures in the interest of protecting national security or the safety of public citizens. Those carrying out intelligence missions should act within not only RIPA but also the Data Protection Act and Human Rights Act. However, there are spy equipment laws and legal requirements around intelligence methods that vary for each form of intelligence enacted.

=== Military intelligence and military justice ===
[[File:L'espion - Alphonse de Neuville - 1880.jpg|thumb|Painting of French spy captured during the [[Franco-Prussian War]] by [[Alphonse de Neuville]], 1880]]

In war, espionage is considered permissible as many nations recognize the inevitability of opposing sides seeking intelligence each about the dispositions of the other. To make the mission easier and successful, [[combatant]]s wear [[disguise]]s to conceal their true identity from the enemy while penetrating enemy lines for intelligence gathering. However, if they are caught behind enemy lines in disguises, they are not entitled to [[prisoner-of-war]] status and subject to [[prosecution]] and punishment—including [[execution]].

The [[Hague Convention of 1907]] addresses the status of wartime spies, specifically within "Laws and Customs of War on Land" (Hague IV); October 18, 1907: Chapter II Spies".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icrc.org/ihl/385ec082b509e76c41256739003e636d/1d1726425f6955aec125641e0038bfd6?OpenDocument |title=Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex: Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land. The Hague, 18 October 1907. |publisher=[[International Committee of the Red Cross]]}}</ref> Article 29 states that a person is considered a spy who, acts clandestinely or on false pretences, infiltrates enemy lines with the intention of acquiring intelligence about the enemy and communicate it to the [[belligerent]] during times of war. Soldiers who penetrate enemy lines in proper uniforms for the purpose of acquiring intelligence are not considered spies but are [[Combatant#Privileged combatants|lawful combatants]] entitled to be treated as prisoners of war upon capture by the enemy. Article 30 states that a spy captured behind enemy lines may only be punished following a trial. However, Article 31 provides that if a spy successfully rejoined his own military and is then captured by the enemy as a lawful combatant, he cannot be punished for his previous acts of espionage and must be treated as a prisoner of war. This provision does not apply to citizens who committed [[treason]] against their own country or co-belligerents of that country and may be captured and prosecuted at any place or any time regardless whether he rejoined the military to which he belongs or not or during or after the war.<ref>{{cite book |title=Crime Wars: The Global Intersection of Crime, Political Violence, and International Law |author1=Paul Battersby |author2=Joseph M. Siracusa |author3=Sasho Ripiloski |year=2011 |page=125 |publisher=[[Praeger Publishers|Greenwood Publishing Group]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=2 SAS Regiment, War Crimes Investigations, and British Intelligence: Intelligence Officials and the ''Natzweiler Trial'' |first=Lorie |last=Charlesworth |journal=The Journal of Intelligence History |volume=6 |issue=2 |date=2006 |page=41 |doi=10.1080/16161262.2006.10555131 |s2cid=156655154 }}</ref>

The ones that are excluded from being treated as spies while behind enemy lines are escaping prisoners of war and downed [[airmen]] as [[international law]] distinguishes between a disguised spy and a disguised escaper.<ref name="PROTOCOL">{{cite book |title=New Rules for Victims of Armed Conflicts: Commentary on the Two 1977 Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (Nijhoff Classics in International Law) |date=August 15, 2013 |author=Igor Primoratz |page=214 |publisher=[[Martinus Nijhoff Publishers]]}}</ref> It is permissible for these groups to wear enemy uniforms or civilian clothes in order to facilitate their escape back to friendly lines so long as they do not attack enemy forces, collect military intelligence, or engage in similar military operations while so disguised.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_cou_us_rule62 |title=United States of America, Practice Relating to Rule 62. Improper Use of Flags or Military Emblems, Insignia or Uniforms of the Adversary |publisher=[[International Committee of the Red Cross]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EBTul-duLEYC&q=escaping%20POWs%20civilian%20clothes%20enemy%20uniforms&pg=PA24|title=2006 Operational Law Handbook|isbn=9781428910676|year=2010|publisher=DIANE }}</ref> Soldiers who are wearing enemy uniforms or civilian clothes simply for the sake of warmth along with other purposes rather than engaging in espionage or similar military operations while so attired are also excluded from being treated as unlawful combatants.<ref name="PROTOCOL" />

[[Sabotage|Saboteurs]] are treated as spies as they too wear disguises behind enemy lines for the purpose of waging destruction on an enemy's vital targets in addition to intelligence gathering.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Contemporary Law Of Armed Conflict 2nd Edition |author=Leslie C. Green |date=2000 |page=142 |publisher=Juris Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-929446-03-2 }}<!--|access-date=25 July 2013--></ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Romantics at War: Glory and Guilt in the Age of Terrorism |url=https://archive.org/details/romanticsatwar00geor |url-access=registration |author=George P. Fletcher |page=[https://archive.org/details/romanticsatwar00geor/page/106 106] |date=September 16, 2002 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|isbn=9780691006512 }}</ref> For example, during [[World War II]], eight German agents entered the U.S. in June 1942 as part of [[Operation Pastorius]], a sabotage mission against U.S. economic targets. Two weeks later, all were arrested in civilian clothes by the [[FBI]] thanks to two German agents betraying the mission to the U.S. Under the Hague Convention of 1907, these Germans were classified as spies and tried by a [[Military justice|military tribunal]] in [[Washington D.C.]]<ref>{{cite book |title=International Law in Historical Perspective: The laws of war. Part IX-A |author= J. H. W. Verziji |year=1978 |page=143 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-286-0148-2}}</ref> On August 3, 1942, all eight were found guilty and sentenced to death. Five days later, six were executed by [[electric chair]] at the District of Columbia jail. Two who had given evidence against the others had their sentences reduced by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] to prison terms. In 1948, they were released by President [[Harry S. Truman]] and deported to the [[American Zone of Occupation#American Zone of Occupation|American Zone of occupied Germany]].

The U.S. codification of enemy spies is Article 106 of the [[Uniform Code of Military Justice]]. This provides a mandatory death sentence if a person captured in the act is proven to be "lurking as a spy or acting as a spy in or about any place, vessel, or aircraft, within the control or jurisdiction of any of the armed forces, or in or about any shipyard, any manufacturing or industrial plant, or any other place or institution engaged in work in aid of the prosecution of the war by the United States, or elsewhere".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/mcm/bl106.htm|title=UCMJ – Article 106 – Spies|work=About.com US Military|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515214735/http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/mcm/bl106.htm|archive-date=2013-05-15}}</ref>