Us Urges Moscow To Free Suspected American Spy
Newcastle Herald
Thursday August 31, 2000
WASHINGTON: The United States has urged Moscow to free suspected American spy Edmond Pope from prison immediately and said his case could have implications for Americans travelling to Russia.
The latest plea came amid new fears for the health of Pope, 54, who is in remission from a rare form of bone cancer. Pope's wife visited him on Tuesday in his cramped cell in the Lefortovo prison carrying pills for his disease and said he was weak and fragile.
State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said Washington was examining implications for US business travellers of the five-month-long imprisonment of Pope, a retired Navy intelligence officer who denies allegations he is a spy.
`No evidence exists that he has violated Russian laws, and we believe he should be released,' Mr Reeker said.
Russia's FSB domestic counter-intelligence agency accuses Pope of having made contact with a Russian scientist, saying he was gathering data on a Russian underwater missile.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of Internet users viewed the State Department's Web site to check its assessment of the safety of travel to any given country.
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
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