EDMOND POPE FOUND GUILTY

[SandyO]

Why would a 54 year old businessman suffering from a rare form of bone cancer get on a plane to Russia, then pay $14,000 for declassified information?

[Nonson]

SandyO, a most interesting question. Who's $14,000 did Pope spend on the "declassified documents"? Odds are it was not his. Who would want such documents? Not the US Gov't. Perhaps an arms manufacturer in the Middle East, Asia? Or maybe it is a CIA ruse to let the US trade a Russian spy for Pope. I just love these games. Peace

[mastodon]

Edmond Pope Describes His Ordeal in Russia On Spy Charge

Reuters - When Russian authorities arrested American Edmond Pope on charges of espionage a year and a half ago, he thought it was a joke, but after months behind bars the situation became so unbearable he considered suicide, Pope said on Wednesday.

He chronicled his experience in a recently released book, "Torpedoed," and spoke at a presentation of a first edition copy to Rep. John Peterson, a Pennsylvania Republican who helped free him.

Pope, a former naval intelligence officer who made 27 trips to Russia as a businessman over a decade, said he was very aware that his past career might lead to a misperception among Russian authorities so he took extra care to adhere to their rules and regulations.

"I know what my career was and how I could be viewed by hardliners over this, so I went out of my way to take extra precautions in everything. I did not to violate any known rules or regulations," Pope said.

He spent 253 days in Moscow's Lefortovo Prison before being pardoned last December on a 20-year hard labor sentence.

Pope denied being a spy trying to obtain secrets about a high-speed Russian torpedo. He said he had unclassified research papers from 1997 and 1999 that contained information found in university textbooks which Russia's FSB domestic intelligence service said should be classified.

At the time of his arrest, Pope said he had a contract with the U.S. office of naval research and was working with two Russian institutions to develop commercial applications for technologies used in Russian torpedoes.

"The U.S. government pays in many cases, including the contract I had, to explore these new technologies and take them into the civil world," Pope said.

When he was arrested in April 2000 and branded a spy, Pope said: "At first I was shocked and I thought it was funny. I thought it was a joke initially."

But then he was jailed and convicted. He was pardoned after eight months in prison after former President Bill Clinton pressed for his release.

"My worst day was July 29. I was ill. I believe I was being drugged. I couldn't walk. It was a weekend. I couldn't eat. I couldn't drink. I considered suicide," he said. "I was extremely depressed, and then I started coming out of it."

Pope, who has bone cancer, lost about 35 pounds while in prison and his wife Cheri became increasingly concerned about his physical and mental fragility, Peterson said.

After visiting Pope in prison in August "she was stunned by his appearance," he said. "In October she was stunned by his emotional weakness because he was wearing down," Peterson said. "She had never seen her husband fragile before."

Pope said he was falsely accused by Russia of spying because hardliners wanted to make a point to the public.

"I was a pawn that played into this game that is still evolving," he said. "Used by the FSB to illustrate to people in the country that evils are coming from the outside," he said.

"But it's not just the Westerners, many Russians have been arrested," Pope said.

Despite his criticism of Russia on human rights, Pope said the Sept. 11 attack on America showed that the two countries need to be allied against terrorism.

"I don't want to go too far in condemning the regime. We must work with Russia. They are a valuable ally. We all must stand up to this terrorist threat," he said.