US military man sentenced to 16 years for spying for Russia

A military policeman from Alaska was sentenced to 16 years in prison for attempted espionage for Russia. He handed over classified information to an undercover FBI agent, whom he allegedly took for a government representative of the Russian Federation, according to Huffington Post.

Military prosecutors described the 24-year-old Colton Millay during the trial as a racist fed up with the United States and the U.S. Army. The man was supposedly ready to sell his country's secrets to enemy agents, disregarding the fact that it could cost other U.S. soldiers their lives.

The lawyers tried to convince the court that their client was emotionally unstable and was just looking for attention. In their view, Millay should be sent for rehabilitation, rather than to a prison.

According to the FBI, they had been following Millay since 2011. Someone reported that he had written to a Russian media outlet, trying to get information from military authorities of the country. In addition, he made a few calls to the Embassy of the Russian Federation. 

Special agent undercover said that Millay told him during their first meeting that he was "sick of the U.S. Army." They went to a hotel room, which was tapped, and Millay allegedly said he was willing to extend his contract for military service, if Russian agents would be ready to cooperate.

As a result, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison, which was three years shorter than the period proposed by the military tribunal.