DATE=4/5/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=U-S / RUSSIA SPY (L) (CQ)
NUMBER=2-260980
BYLINE=KYLE KING
DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:


INTRO:  The U-S State Department says consular affairs 
officials have visited a U-S citizen being held by 
Russian authorities on spy charges.  From the State 
Department, V-O-A's Kyle King reports.

TEXT:  Officials in Washington refused to give the 
name of the U-S citizen, but they say he has been 
visited by embassy consular staff in Moscow and is in 
good health.

Russian authorities say the detained American is the 
head of a private company and had previously worked as 
a staff officer for U-S intelligence.

A statement issued by the Russian domestic security 
service, or F-S-B, said investigators found a large 
quantity of incriminating documents during the probe.

The Russian statement said the documents included 
technical plans of equipment and recordings of 
conversations with officials of the Russian defense 
industry.

Authorities in Moscow also detained a Russian citizen 
as an accomplice in the case.  They say the materials 
seized show the American had established contacts over 
a long period of time with Russian scientists.

State Department spokesman James Rubin says details of 
the case are scarce, and the man has not yet been 
formally charged.

                  /// RUBIN ACT ///

      An American citizen was detained yesterday 
      [Tuesday] by the Russian police.  No formal 
      charges have been made, but the authorities have 
      advised that he is presently under investigation 
      under Article 276 of the Russian criminal code, 
      which pertains to espionage.  He has an attorney 
      appointed by Russian authorities.

                  /// END ACT ///

Mr. Rubin says a U-S consul visited the American 
detainee Wednesday and reported the man was not 
complaining of ill treatment.

The spokesman says the American man indicated he 
expects the matter to be resolved in a short time.

The case is the latest in a series of spy scandals 
that have soured relations between the United States 
and Russia.  Last November, Russian authorities 
expelled a U-S diplomat who they said was caught with 
spy equipment as she tried to obtain secrets from a 
Russian citizen.

Shortly after that incident, the United States 
expelled a Russian diplomat accused of eavesdropping 
on a State Department conference room with the aid of 
an electronic listening device.   (signed)

NEB/KBK/JP



05-Apr-2000 14:56 PM EDT (05-Apr-2000 1856 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.