Russia Sentences U.S. Citizen After Closed-Door Spy Trial

A Russian court has sentenced U.S. citizen Eugene Spector to 15 years in a penal colony for “espionage” amid accusations by several Western governments that Moscow is convicting foreign nationals to use as bargaining chips in prisoner swaps.

Spector was sentenced on December 24 by the Moscow City Court after a trial that was held behind closed doors. Little is known about the charges the former pharmaceuticals executive faced as the court claimed classified materials during the trial warranted it being closed to the public.

The case comes against a backdrop of deteriorating relations between Moscow and Washington, which are at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War.

Moscow has also been accused of targeting U.S. citizens by detaining them on trumped-up charges to later use as bargaining chips in talks to bring back Russians convicted of crimes in the United States and other Western nations.

At least 10 U.S. citizens remain behind bars in Russia even after a prisoner swap on August 1 involving 16 people that Moscow agreed to free in exchange for eight Russians convicted of crimes and serving prison terms in the United States and Europe.
“Although the prisoner exchange can rightly be considered a victory for diplomacy, we should not hastily declare that justice has prevailed,” Yulia Mineeva, an associate at Chatham House, said after the prisoners were swapped.

“The Russian side held hostages to free their hitmen, spies, and hackers, while the West made a tough decision in favor of the freedom and lives of innocent people, not only their citizens but Russian nationals as well.”

The state TASS news agency said Spector was born in 1972 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) and moved to the United States, where he became a citizen. His Russian name is Yevgeny Mironovich, TASS added.

Spector was the chairman of the board of Medpolymerprom Group, a company known for its focus on developing cancer-curing drugs.

He was sentenced in 2021 to four years in prison on alleged bribery charges. His sentence was reduced by six months after a retrial./Rferl/