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Russia Slams U.S. Congress Resolution on Espionage Case
The resolution on the case of U.S. businessman Edmond Pope, passed by the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday, is an attempt to interfere in Russia's internal affairs, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
The resolution demands the Russian authorities set free Pope, who is charged with spying in Russia, and threatens economic sanctions against Russia if it refuses to do so.
"The noisy minority in the U.S. Congress is again trying to crudely interfere in Russia's internal affairs and pressure Russian investigating and judicial agencies," the ministry said in a statement.
The U.S. action will only damage the mutually beneficial trade between the two countries, it says. The pretext for them is very far-fetched, as irrefutable evidence proves that Pope illegally collected defense data in Russia, it noted.
The Moscow City Court will launch an inquiry into the case on October 18. It is the Russian judicial authorities rather than U.S. congressmen to make a final judgment in Pope's case, the statement said.
On the same day, Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Chairman Gennady Seleznyov sharply criticized the U.S.resolution, calling it "rude intervention in Russia's criminal-procedural laws."
Dmitri Rogozin, head of the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee described the U.S. Congress decision as "imprudent" and "gross interference in the internal affairs of Russia and open pressure on our judicial system."
"Only the court can decide whether or not Pope is guilty... If a person, even a U.S. citizen, is detained by law-enforcement agencies on criminal charges, a final verdict may be passed only
by the court. Such a practice is common in all democratic states," a Russian government spokesman said.
Pope, a former U.S. naval intelligence employee, was detained in Russia on April 5, while trying to hand secret drawings of a high-speed torpedo to a Russian agent recruited by U.S. intelligent services.
Pope's trial is set to begin on October 18, but U.S. congressmen have demanded that President Bill Clinton slap economic sanctions on Russia until Pope is released.
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