Achi news desk-
Former RCMP intelligence officer Cameron Ortiz — who was sentenced to 14 years in prison after leaking national secrets — has been granted bail pending appeal, CTV News has confirmed.
Ortiz is expected to be released as soon as conditions are set, and more details surrounding them are expected on Monday.
Ortiz was the executive director of the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Center before his arrest in September, 2019.
Last November, a jury found him guilty of six charges, including three counts of breaching the Information Security Act, and one count of attempting to do so, in what became the first time he was prosecuted on charges under the Official Secrets Act.
Judge Robert Maranger said during Ortiz’s sentencing in February that the task is a “heavy burden”, and that he expects Ortiz’s decision to be submitted to higher courts on the grounds of “what evidence can and cannot be presented at trial for reasons of national security”.
Both the Crown and the defense filed appeals against Ortiz’s sentence, and his appeal was heard on March 8.
He serves his time at Joyceville Institution, a medium-security prison near Kingston, Ont.
With files from CTV News’ Judy Trinh
