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The Russian court sentences the former employee of the American consulate to almost 5 years in prison

Politiko 2024-11-01 10:30:19

The Russian court sentences the former employee of the American consulate to

A court in Russia's remote hometown of Vladivostok on Friday sentenced a former US consulate worker to four years and 10 months in prison on charges of collaborating with a foreign state.

Robert Shonov, a former employee at the US Consulate in Vladivostok, was arrested in May 2023.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) accused him of "gathering information on the special military operation" in Ukraine, on the conscription of the army in Russian regions and its influence on "people's protest activities before the 2024 presidential elections". .

The US State Department last year condemned the arrest of Shonov and declared that the charges against him "are completely without merit".

Shonov was charged under a new article of Russian law that criminalizes "confidential cooperation with a foreign state, international or foreign organization, to support their activities clearly directed against the security of Russia."

Kremlin critics and human rights advocates have said the law could be used to punish any Russian citizen with foreign ties. It provides a prison sentence of up to eight years.

The State Department said Shonov worked at the US consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years. The consulate was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has not reopened

The State Department also said that, following a Russian government order in April 2021 requiring the firing of all local employees at US diplomatic missions in Russia, Shonov worked for a company contracted by the US to support its embassy. in Moscow.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in May 2023 that Shonov's only job at the time of his arrest was "to prepare summaries of press articles from public Russian media sources."

Shonov was held in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison, which is known for its harsh conditions, pending investigation, but was tried in Vladivostok's Primorski District Court.

In addition to the prison sentence, which Shonov was ordered to serve in a general regime penal colony, the court also fined him 1 million rubles (just over $10,000) and ordered him to face restrictions additional for 16 months after serving the sentence./REL

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