DATE=4/5/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S / RUSSIA SPY (L) (CQ)
NUMBER=2-260980
BYLINE=KYLE KING
DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The U-S State Department says consular affairs
officials have visited a U-S citizen being held by
Russian authorities on spy charges. From the State
Department, V-O-A's Kyle King reports.
TEXT: Officials in Washington refused to give the
name of the U-S citizen, but they say he has been
visited by embassy consular staff in Moscow and is in
good health.
Russian authorities say the detained American is the
head of a private company and had previously worked as
a staff officer for U-S intelligence.
A statement issued by the Russian domestic security
service, or F-S-B, said investigators found a large
quantity of incriminating documents during the probe.
The Russian statement said the documents included
technical plans of equipment and recordings of
conversations with officials of the Russian defense
industry.
Authorities in Moscow also detained a Russian citizen
as an accomplice in the case. They say the materials
seized show the American had established contacts over
a long period of time with Russian scientists.
State Department spokesman James Rubin says details of
the case are scarce, and the man has not yet been
formally charged.
/// RUBIN ACT ///
An American citizen was detained yesterday
[Tuesday] by the Russian police. No formal
charges have been made, but the authorities have
advised that he is presently under investigation
under Article 276 of the Russian criminal code,
which pertains to espionage. He has an attorney
appointed by Russian authorities.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Rubin says a U-S consul visited the American
detainee Wednesday and reported the man was not
complaining of ill treatment.
The spokesman says the American man indicated he
expects the matter to be resolved in a short time.
The case is the latest in a series of spy scandals
that have soured relations between the United States
and Russia. Last November, Russian authorities
expelled a U-S diplomat who they said was caught with
spy equipment as she tried to obtain secrets from a
Russian citizen.
Shortly after that incident, the United States
expelled a Russian diplomat accused of eavesdropping
on a State Department conference room with the aid of
an electronic listening device. (signed)
NEB/KBK/JP
05-Apr-2000 14:56 PM EDT (05-Apr-2000 1856 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
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