Glimmer of Hope in 'Spy Mania'
By Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writer
| A former diplomat convicted of spying, a physicist accused of espionage and a group of human rights advocates Thursday praised recent remarks by President Vladimir Putin against "obsessive spy mania" but said actions would speak louder than words."We were glad to hear it and hope that it will be heard by those who prepare idiotic cases," Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alexeyeva said, referring to the Federal Security Service, which has opened about a dozen espionage cases against scientists and environmentalists in recent years.Putin, presiding over a meeting of the advisory State Council last week, criticized what he called "obsessive spy mania" in the country and "excessive bureaucratization" in protecting national security.However, former diplomat Valentin Moiseyev, who spent four years in jail on charges of spying for South Korea, cautioned on Thursday that Putin's remarks might just be the start of his campaign for the 2004 election."We should not forget that elections are approaching, and the president will be seeking the votes of well-educated liberals," Moiseyev said at a news conference attended by Valentin Danilov, a Krasnoyarsk scientist accused of sharing sensitive information with China.A former deputy chief for the Foreign Ministry's Asia desk, Moiseyev was convicted in August 2001 and sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison. He was released a month ago and is seeking an acquittal.Alexeyeva warned that arms analyst Igor Sutyagin, a scholar at Moscow's USA and Canada Institute who is being held in Lefortovo on charges of passing secrets to U.S. intelligence, might still receive a long prison sentence."For the FSB, it's not important whether a crime was committed," said Sutyagin's lawyer, Anna Stavitskaya. "If they have a person, they'll find a charge."She said Sutyagin is reading the 30 volumes of his criminal case and a date for his trial has yet to be set.Alexeyeva said the government would take some time to get over its suspicion of scientific exchanges of information. "Every closed society suffers from spy mania," she said. "Russia has only been an open society for the last 10 years -- for the first time in all its history." |
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/01/31/013.html
