Again, US Citizens Charged With Espionage In Russia: Threatened With Up To 20 Years In Prison

Illustration of the flag of Russia and the United States. (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State)

JAKARTA - Russia has charged a United States citizen with espionage charges, according to state news agencies, adding to the burden of President Joe Biden's administration on bringing home its detained citizens Moscow.

Russian news agencies RIA and TASS said the Lefortovo Court in Moscow had detained Gene Spector in pre-trial detention for alleged espionage, which could lead to imprisonment of between 10 and 20 years.

"The court granted an investigative request to detain Spector, a US citizen, on charges under Article 276 (spionase) of the Russian Federation's Criminal Code," Reuters wrote.

The news agency did not report details of the new indictment, but said the court hearing was held behind closed doors because the material of the case was confidential.

Spector has served 3.5 years in prison, after pleading guilty for his role in bribing former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich's assistants, according to the news agencies.

Spector was born in what is now Saint Petersburg and then moved to the United States. Before being arrested in 2021, he served as a high-ranking Medpolymerprom Group official, a company that specializes in cancer healing drugs, TASS reported.

Speaking on CNN, White House spokesman John Kirby said the government was still gathering information about the case and had not yet commented. Meanwhile, the US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Washington was previously in communication with Moscow to bring back its detained citizens, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US marine Paul Whelan.

The Kremlin has confirmed it has held several discussions with Washington, but has repeatedly said the exchange could only be considered after trials. Moscow also warned Washington's efforts to speak openly about the talks being carried out could undermine the effort.

Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov said on Wednesday, Moscow and Washington operate effective channels to exchange prisoners.

Gershkovich, a US citizen, was arrested in March on espionage charges denied by Gershkovich, Journal and Washington. Meanwhile, Russia said he was caught red-handed.

Meanwhile, Whelan, a former US marine, is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison, after being found guilty of espionage charges that Washington says are also fake. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by telephone with Whelan this month.