World

Putin Hints He'll Free Pope

October 19, 2000 / 9:12 AM EDT / AP

Seeking to avoid a dispute with the United States, Russia's President Vladimir Putin indicated Saturday he will soon pardon American businessman Edmond Pope, whose espionage trial and conviction brought angry protests from Washington.

Putin said he could not ignore a recommendation by Russia's presidential pardons commission that Pope be freed. The commission cited Pope's weak health and his wish to see his dying father - and said a pardon would prove to the West that Russia has broken with its totalitarian past.

The White House, which had called Pope's 20-year prison sentence unwarranted and demanded his release, cheered the apparent decision to let him go home to Pennsylvania. So did Pope's family, which fears his bone cancer has returned during his eight months in Moscow's grim Lefortovo prison.

"It will be a great relief to all Americans when Mr. Pope is finally freed and reunited with his family," U.S. President Bill Clinton said in a statement.

Putin, during a tour of industrial facilities in the Urals region Saturday, said: "The (pardon) commission consists of well-known and respected public figures, so I cannot but heed their opinion.

"In making this decision, we will also consider the high level of relations between the Untied States and Russia," he said. "We are not aiming to look for a reason to worsen these relations."

A Moscow court sentenced Pope, a former U.S. navy intelligence officer, to a maximum prison term of 20 years on Wednesday on charges of obtaining information about a top-secret Russian navy torpedo. Prosecutors also wanted him to pay a staggering fine for damaging the struggling Russian military.

Pope insisted he was not a spy, and that information about the high-speed torpedo was not classified and freely available. The American runs a company that specializes in information about foreign maritime technology.

It was the first time in 40 years that an American had been convicted of espionage in Russia, and it raised questions about what is secret in today's Russia.

The case also fueled questions about the extent of Russia's desire for close relations with the West at a time when Putin - a former KGB agent - is trying to resurrect his country's diminished global clout while reviving the investment-hungry economy.

On Thursday, Pope sent Putin an emotional appeal for freedom. The pardons commission on Friday recommended that Pope be sent home.

Putin said he discussed the case by telephone on Friday with Clinton, who had expressed concern about Pope's health. Putin said he told Clinton that he respected the pardon commission recommendation.

Putin said Pope's release could come some time after Dec. 14, because he must wait until the verdict comes into effect Dec. 13.

The U.S. State Department said it was working on details of Pope's release.

Pope's mother, Elizabeth Pope, said from her home in Grants Pass, Oregon, "It's been a horrible nightmare and we arso happy it's going to be over. It was such a travesty of justice."

Defense attorneys and independent observers criticized the Moscow court, saying it had been biased in favor of the Russian security services.

Pope stood in the suspect's cage of the dingy Moscow courtroom for seven weeks, a Russian Federal Security Service translator his only connection to the proceedings. His key accuser recanted his statements implicating Pope, but that appeared to have little effect on the proceedings.

Despite repeated U.S. pressure to free Pope since his April arrest, Putin had insisted that the judicial process would have to be completed before he would intervene. Observers say his stance has allowed the security services to flex their muscles while leaving the way open for him to demonstrate humaneness.

"I followed the trial, and I was getting more and more convinced that this all fits into an attempt to restore in society the atmosphere of a spy mania," said pardons commission member Marietta Chudakova.

The clemency recommendation "was our protest against that, and our attempt to push society further along the road to democracy," she told reporters Friday.

Putin said that Pope was offered access to Russian doctors but rejected the proposal, reiterating his request for access to English-speaking specialists. His earlier requests were all denied.