Russia sentences the former employee of the American consulate to over 4 years in prison

2024-11-02 20:37:16, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russia sentences the former employee of the American consulate to over 4 years

A court in Russia's far east said on Friday it had convicted Robert Shonov, a former employee of the US consulate, on charges of illegal and covert cooperation with the US government to harm Russia's national security. The court said Mr. Shonov was sentenced to almost five years in prison.

The Federal Security Service, FSB, arrested Russian national Robert Shonov in Vladivostok in May 2023. The FSB accused him of being paid by US diplomats in exchange for classified information that was potentially damaging to Russia. The United States condemned the detention on Saturday, calling it "a scandalous injustice".

"The allegations against Mr. Shonov are completely fictitious and have no basis," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

A court in the Primorsky region in Russia's far east confirmed in a statement on Friday that it had found Mr Shonov guilty and sentenced him to four years and 10 months in prison.

In a video where the decision is read, published by the court, Mr. Shonov can be seen inside a cage while listening to the judge's speech.

Russia's FSB released a video in August 2023 showing a purported confession by Mr Shonov that two senior US diplomats, based in Moscow and then expelled from Russia, had asked him to gather information. regarding Russia's war efforts in Ukraine, annexation of new territories, military mobilization and the 2024 presidential election.

In the video recorded by the FSB, Mr. Shonov said that he was told to collect "negative" data on these targets, to study signs of popular protests and to reflect the data in his reports. It is not clear whether he was forced to make these allusions.

Mr. Shonov worked at the United States Consulate General in Vladivostok for more than 25 years. In 2021, Russia ordered the dismissal of local staff working for the US consulate.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have fallen to their lowest level in decades due to Russia's war on Ukraine./ VOA