A Russian court on Dec. 24 convicted U.S. citizen Eugene Spector of espionage and sentenced him to 15 years in a high-security prison.
Spector, 52, was already serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for bribery when he was charged with espionage.
The Moscow City Court on Dec. 24 added 13 years to Spector's sentence after convicting him of being a spy in a closed-door trial. His previous charge for bribery was added to this term, bringing his total sentence to 15 years.
Spector was also fined 14,116,805 rubles (approximately $140,500), according to the independent Russian outlet Mediazona.
Spector in 2020 pled guilty to acting as an intermediary to a bribe. He was accused of mediating bribes for Anastasia Alekseyeva, once an aide to former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
The details of the espionage charges against Spector have not been made public. He was charged with spying in August 2023.
Spector was born in Russia but moved to the United States, where he attained citizenship.
Many U.S. nationals who have been arrested in Russia are now awaiting trial or serving lengthy sentences. Washington has accused Moscow of orchestrating the detention of U.S. citizens to gain leverage for future prisoner swaps.
A number of U.S. citizens, including the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were released in a historic prisoner swap on Aug. 1, with Russia and several Western countries exchanging a total of 24 detainees.
The U.S. State Department has warned Americans against traveling, saying they "may face harassment or detention by Russian security officials."
Oleg Sukhov
(Updated: )
