Moscow Court Turns Down Appeal by Jailed American That He Be Freed
A Russian court on Tuesday turned down an appeal for freedom by American Edmond D. Pope, who has been jailed for 5 1/2 months on espionage charges.
Pope had asked to be freed so that he could undergo treatment for cancer. But the Moscow city court ruled that the espionage accusation is too serious to warrant freeing him.
According to his family, Pope, 54, has a rare form of bone cancer that was in remission when he was arrested.
The U.S. says it has seen no evidence that Pope, who was arrested April 2 after paying a business contact for specifications of a high-speed torpedo, had broken any Russian law.
U.S. consular officers have visited Pope in jail 12 times, most recently Thursday, but the Russians have refused to let the embassy doctor visit him for an examination.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that the Russians had promised to provide the results of tests requested by the embassy doctor but then told the embassy that Russian law prohibits this and does not allow for an independent examination.
“We find this outrageous, and we’ve protested this response,” Boucher added.
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