ANKARA

A New Zealand military court on Monday convicted a soldier of espionage and possessing a restricted video of the 2019 Christchurch Mosque attacks, state media reported.

This is the first-ever military prosecution for espionage or attempted espionage in the country's history.

The soldier, with ties to far-right groups, admitted to handing over and attempting to hand over sensitive military information to someone he believed to be a foreign agent, as well as to dishonestly accessing a computer system and possessing an objectionable publication, according to Radio New Zealand.

Along with the restricted video of the live-streamed Christchurch Mosque attacks, in which 51 people were killed, the soldier also possessed the attacker's manifesto titled The Great Replacement.

The espionage attempt occurred in December 2019, when the soldier tried to pass classified material to an undercover agent, believing they represented a foreign government.

The sensitive information included maps, access codes and internal phone directories for several military camps, which, according to the charge, were likely to prejudice New Zealand’s security and defense.

The names of the foreign country and the soldier, who was caught in an undercover sting operation, have not been revealed.

The military panel accepted the guilty pleas and will determine the soldier’s sentence at a later date.

The soldier is reported to have been affiliated with far-right groups, including the Dominion Movement and Action Zealandia.

*Writing by Aamir Latif