Russia sentences ex-US consulate worker convicted of “gathering information” on Ukraine war to prison

in Moscow – A court in Russia's eastern city, Vladivostok, on Friday convicted a former US Consulate employee of espionage and sentenced him to four years and ten months in prison.

Robert Shonov, a Russian citizen and former employee of the US Embassy in Vladivostok, was arrested in May 2023. Russia's top domestic security agency, the FSB, accused him of “gathering information about the special. military operation” in Ukraineto be called less in the regions of Russia and its impact on the “protest actions of the population before the presidential elections of 2024.”

The US ambassador in Moscow condemned the sentence and dismissed the charges against him as “false and baseless.”

“The criminal prosecution of Mr. Shonov only reinforces the campaign of intimidation by the Russian government that continues to abduct its own citizens,” the embassy said in a statement.

Shonov was charged under a new article of Russian law that charges “secret cooperation with a foreign country, international or foreign organization to facilitate their activities clearly aimed at the security of Russia.” Kremlin critics and human rights advocates say it is so broad that it could be used to punish any Russian for communicating with other countries. It carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.

The US State Department said last year that Shonov had worked at the US Consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years. The embassy was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, amid growing tensions between Moscow and Washington, has not been reopened.

The State Department said that after the Russian government's order in April 2021 required the dismissal of all local employees at US diplomatic facilities in Russia, Shonov worked for a company contracted by the US to support the embassy in Moscow.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in May 2023 that Shonov's sole role at the time of his arrest was “compiling press summaries of news from publicly available Russian media sources.”

Shonov was detained in Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, known for its harsh conditions, pending investigation, but he was tried at the Vladivostok Primorsky District Court.

In addition to the sentence, which Shonov was ordered to serve in a state penal facility, the court ruled that he must pay a fine of 1 million rubles (just over $10,000) and face additional restrictions for 16 months after serving his sentence. .

Although Shonov is Russian, Russian authorities have arrested dozens of Americans and binationals in recent years on charges ranging from espionage to petty theft, with some related to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

They include a 72-year-old American man identified as Stephen Hubbard who was convicted in early October after being convicted of fighting as a Ukrainian mercenary. A judge in the Moscow City Court sentenced him to six years and 10 months in prison for “participating as an expert in armed conflict” after a brief trial held mostly behind closed doors.

Ksenia KarelinaA US-Russian dual citizen who was arrested while visiting family in Russia, was sentenced this summer to 12 years in prison for donating approximately $50 to a Ukrainian organization.

And over the summer, a major prisoner exchange with the US saw two high-profile American prisoners, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US Marine veteran Paul Whelan, released in exchange for several Russians who were detained in the United States and other countries – most of them with links to Russian intelligence.

The previous exchange saw Russia release the WNBA star Brittney Griner in exchange for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December 2022.