MOSCOW, June 14 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court on Tuesday sentenced Yevgeny Petrin, former employee of Russian Orthodox Church who claimed to be working as an operative of the Federal Security Service (FSB), to 12 years in prison for treason, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

Petrin appealed the sentence immediately after it had been handed down, according to his lawyer Ivan Pavlov.

Prosecutors demanded a 19-year imprisonment for Petrin, while defense asked the court to acquit him.

The case was classified and heard behind closed doors. 

It was previously reported that Petrin contacted with unnamed agents of US intelligence services and passed them secret information about the FSB. A criminal case against Petrin was reportedly opened in April 2014. He was arrested soon afterwards and placed in pre-trial detention center. 

The criminal case was based on the testimony of Petrin, his lawyer told Kommersant daily. However, Petrin later claimed that he testified being under pressure and was convinced by a public defender to plead guilty. He then withdrew his testimony, according to Kommersant.