Russia’s FSB opens spying case against citizen of US
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that it has opened a criminal case against a United States citizen on suspicion of espionage, saying that the suspect was believed to be gathering “biological intelligence information.”
In a statement published online announcing the move, the FSB did not say whether or not it had arrested the suspect.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that it has opened a criminal case against a United States citizen on suspicion of espionage, saying that the suspect was believed to be gathering “biological intelligence information.”
In a statement published online announcing the move, the FSB did not say whether or not it had arrested the suspect. It did not give the name, or any other details, about the suspect. A number of US citizens have been detained on criminal charges in Russia in recent years, with some ultimately freed in exchange for Russians detained in the United States. In December, US basketball star Brittney Griner was freed after being sentenced to 9 years in prison on drug charges.
However, espionage cases are seen as especially fraught, with Russian security services often unwilling to release those it accuses of being spies.
Russia has so far refused to swap US Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan, who was arrested by the FSB in 2018 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield last week accused Russia of a “deliberate slowdown of inspections,” saying that 5 million tonnes of food a month should be moving under the agreement.
The Russian UN mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thomas-Greenfield's remark.
“We have been pushing to get more inspections. We've been pushing to make sure that the inspections proceed quickly and thoroughly,” deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said.