MOSCOW (Reuters) -A court docket in Russia’s far east mentioned on Friday it had convicted Robert Shonov, a former U.S. consular worker, of illegally and covertly cooperating with the U.S. authorities to hurt Russia’s nationwide safety and had jailed him for practically 5 years.
Russia’s FSB safety service detained Shonov, a Russian nationwide, in Vladivostok in Could 2023 and accused him of taking cash to covertly provide U.S. diplomats with data that was probably dangerous to Russia.
The U.S. on Saturday condemned the conviction, calling it “an egregious injustice”.
“The allegations against Mr. Shonov are entirely fictitious and without merit,” State Division spokesperson Matthew Miller mentioned in an announcement.
A court docket within the Primorsky area in Russia’s far east confirmed in an announcement on Friday that it had discovered Shonov responsible and had sentenced him to 4 years and 10 months in a penal colony.
Video of the decision being learn, launched by the court docket, confirmed Shonov listening inside a courtroom cage because the decide sentenced him.
The FSB revealed a video in August 2023 exhibiting a purported confession by Shonov wherein he mentioned two senior U.S. diplomats based mostly in Moscow whom Russia later expelled had requested him to gather details about Russia’s conflict effort in Ukraine, its annexation of “new territories”, its navy mobilisation and the 2024 Russian presidential election.
Within the video, Shonov mentioned he was instructed to assemble “negative” data on these matters, to search for indicators of common protest, and to mirror these in his reviews.
It was not clear whether or not he was talking below duress.
Shonov was employed by the U.S. Consulate Normal in Vladivostok for greater than 25 years till Russia in 2021 ordered the dismissal of the U.S. mission’s native employees.
Relations between Moscow and Washington have plunged to their lowest stage for many years over Russia’s conflict in Ukraine.
