Wife of accused U.S. spy calls for release on health grounds

publiziert: Mittwoch, 25. Okt 2000 / 16:31 Uhr

MOSCOW - The wife of accused U.S. spy Edmond Pope on Wednesday stood outside the Moscow courtroom where he is on trial and called for her husband to be freed from prison on health grounds.

"He is 54 years old and he's not in good health and he will die" if he's not released," Cheri Pope told reporters in a soft voice. "I'm not optimistic about the outcome of the trial, but I'm hoping there will be a humanitarian release for my husband."

Pope was arrested on April 3 by the Federal Security Service, which accused him of trying to illegally purchase the blueprints for a torpedo used by the Russian military. Pope has pleaded innocent, and the U.S. government has demanded his immediate liberation.

But the security service has pressed forward with its case, and the closed-door trial opened last week in the Moscow city court. Pope has lodged dozens of protests over the legal procedures followed during the investigation and trial, but until Wednesday, the court turned down all his motions, including a request for an independent medical evaluation to determine whether he is healthy enough to remain in prison.

On Wednesday, the presiding judge acceded for the first time to two requests by the defense, agreeing to have new witness testimony and documents presented in court, Pope's lawyer Pavel Astakhov said. During the Wednesday session, the state prosecutor concentrated on Pope's past service in U.S. naval intelligence, saying that his employment history indicated he was a spy, Astakhov said. But Astakhov ridiculed the suggestion, saying that the prosecutor's reasoning could be extended to accuse Russian President Vladimir Putin _ a 16-year veteran of the KGB _ and other government officials of spying.

"In our country, we can find a couple of well-known examples, at the highest level: An ex-prime minister, (and) the current president both come from special services. Both were engaged in espionage," Astakhov told reporters.

"But nobody would imagine accusing them of continuing to engage in spying when they visit foreign countries." Pope has suffered from a rare form of bone cancer, which his family says was in remission when he traveled to Russia earlier this year. His family fears that the cancer may have returned but the Russian authorities have not allowed any English-speaking doctor to examine him.

"It's been very difficult for the American government and for all Americans and for me as his representative in Congress that he's been denied the kind of medical care that he deserves," said Rep. John Peterson, Pope's Pennsylvania congressman, who accompanied Mrs. Pope to Moscow.

"We certainly plead and beg the judge to allow him to have an MRI and a CAT scan," Peterson said. The court allowed Mrs. Pope a short visit with her husband on Wednesday afternoon, after the court session ended. Earlier in the day, he glimpsed her through an open door, smiled and waved.

The Federal Security Service, the main successor to the Soviet KGB, says Pope, a retired naval officer from State College, Pennsylvania, is a spy. But his family and supporters say he was trying to buy information on technology that is at least 10 years old and has already been sold abroad.

If convicted, Pope could be sentenced to 10-20 years in prison.

(klei/AP)

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