Russia charges former US embassy employee with ‘conspiracy’
- Robert Shonov was arrested in Vladivostok and charged with conspiracy
- He was taken to the Lefortovo Prison and faces up to 8 years in prison
- US Embassy in Moscow: Aware of reports but has "nothing further to share”
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(NewsNation) — A former employee of the U.S. Embassy in Russia was arrested and charged with conspiracy, according to the Russian state-run news agency TASS.
Robert Shonov was detained in Vladivostok and charged with “collaboration on a confidential basis with a foreign state or international or foreign organization,” TASS reported.
The State Department confirmed Shonov is not an American citizen, but worked at the U.S. Embassy in Russia for over 25 years.
Shonov faces up to eight years in prison. He was taken to Moscow’s Lefortovo detention center for further questioning, TASS reported.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it was aware of the reports but had “nothing further to share at this time,” Reuters reported.
The State Department has acknowledged and condemned Russia’s claims, calling them “wholly without merit.”
TASS quoted a court source as saying FSB investigators had requested Shonov be remanded in custody for three months.
In late March, Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. journalist for the Wall Street Journal, was detained on espionage charges, a move that the White House called ridiculous and illegal. He’s also currently being held at Lefortovo, according to The New York Times.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan also spent time in Lefortovo ahead of his 2020 trial, The New York Times reported. He was convicted in a Moscow court of espionage and sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.
