MOSCOW: Russia has charged a jailed American citizen with espionage, state news agencies reported, upping the pressure on US President Joe Biden’s administration which has been trying to find a way to bring several detained citizens back home from Russia.
Russia’s RIA and TASS news agencies said that Moscow’s Lefortovo court had remanded Gene Spector in pre-trial custody on suspicion of espionage, which is punishable with a jail term of 10 to 20 years.
“The court granted the request of the investigation to detain a US citizen Spector on charge of espionage of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” TASS said.