Issue #1669 (31), Wednesday, August 10, 2011 | Archive
 
 
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Poteyev Treason Verdict Upheld

Published: August 10, 2011 (Issue # 1669)


The Supreme Court upheld on Tuesday the verdict for a former intelligence colonel sentenced in absentia on charges of betraying U.S.-based Russian sleeper agents last year, RIA-Novosti reported.

Alexander Poteyev was given 25 years in prison on treason and desertion charges by a Moscow district military court in June. He was also stripped of his rank and his state awards.

Poteyev is accused of identifying 10 agents of the Foreign Intelligence Service to the Americans. The agents pleaded guilty and were returned to Russia last summer in a spy swap.

Lawyers for Poteyev, who investigators say fled to the United States not long before the agents were exposed, contested the June ruling, admitting that “proof of his guilt was undeniable” but asking to slash the sentence and return his medals, RIA-Novosti reported.


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