Robert Shonov, identified as a former employee of the US embassy in Russia, was arrested in the Russian city of Vladivostok and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. According to the Russian state news agency Tass,
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters at a briefing on Monday that he had seen the report but “I have nothing additional to offer at this time.”
Tass quoted an unnamed law enforcement official as saying Mr Shonov had been accused of “collaborating on a confidential basis with a foreign state or an international or foreign organisation”. Tass said he has been taken to Moscow’s Lefortovo prison and no court date has been set.
It is common to be kept in isolation at Lefortovo, a notorious high-security prison whose inmates currently include Wall Street Journal correspondent Ivan Gershkovich, who was charged with espionage in March, allegations that his employer and US officials vehemently denied. being kept in jail Paul WhelanWhat the United States has to say on a former US Marine who is serving a 16-year sentence fabricated charges Of espionage
In the Soviet era, the KGB imprisoned Soviet dissidents, and it has more recently been used to isolate opponents of the Kremlin.