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Russian Prosecutor Denies Key Witness of US Spy Case Withdrew Evidence
Russian prosecutor Oleg Plotnikov in charge of the case of a suspected US spy, former US naval intelligence officer Edmond Pope, denied allegations by Pope's defense on Friday that a key witness has retracted all his evidence against the US citizen.
Plotnikov told reporters after a Moscow City Court session Friday that there is enough evidence against the suspected US espionage.
The prosecutor said that Pope's defense lawyer Pavel Astakhov had been wrong in saying that Anatoly Babkin, a professor at Moscow State Technological University, disavowed all his earlier testimony against Pope.
During Friday's questioning session, Babkin only took back what he had said during the last interrogation before he was released from custody, Plotnikov said.
But despite this, "there are enough proofs" that "Pope, and Babkin too, are guilty," the prosecutor said.
Astakhov told reporters after Friday's hearing that Babkin submitted a statement to the court one day earlier, in which he disavowed his earlier testimony against Pope.
Pope was reportedly caught on April 5 as a paid agent was passing him classified drawings of a high-speed torpedo carried by Russian nuclear-powered submarines. Charges of spying for the United States were filed against him on April 12.
Babkin's evidence was key in the case for or against Pope, who denied spying and faced up to 20 years in jail if found guilty.
The Pope trial has caused a strain in relations between the United States and Russia.
US President Bill Clinton has personally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to free Pope, who is said to suffer from a rare form of bone cancer, on health grounds, but Putin has said Pope's fate is in the hands of the court.
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