Cancer-stricken US businessman Edmund Pope denied he was a spy Monday and dismissed the case against him as baseless and illegal when his trial resumed in a Moscow court, his lawyer said.
In his first comments in open court since his trial began Friday, Pope read out a detailed, line-by-line rebuttal of the 26-page espionage indictment he faces.
The ex-US naval intelligence officer faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted of attempting to buy secret sketches of a high-speed torpedo and seeking information on weaponry from Russian scientists.
"He categorically denied his guilt and he maintains that the case against him is without foundation, and illegal," defense lawyer Pavel Astakhov told reporters.
"Pope began his statement by telling the court that nearly all the statements attributed to him in the indictment had been misrepresented, and requested that he be granted the opportunity to correct the mistakes.
"He maintains that most of the interview accounts which contain his statements are inaccurate," Astakhov said.
"Pope is disappointed that he cannot get a fair trial," he added.
The closed-door proceedings were due to resume Tuesday when Pope would add to his 39-point statement further evidence backing up his defense, the lawyer said.
The businessman's wife, Sheri, is hoping to travel to Moscow on Thursday with a group of US congressmen, said Astakhov, but was having visa problems.
The US House of Representatives has urged US President Bill Clinton to consider freezing most economic aid to Russia unless Pope is immediately released.
Last month, Putin hinted that he might intervene because of Pope's health, but has not since spoken publicly on the case.
Pope admits securing information on the Skhval torpedo, but insists he paid to receive it from Professor Anatoly Babkin at Moscow's Bauman University with the explicit agreement of the institution's deputy rector.
"We don't deny that he obtained this information, but it was through legal means," said another defense lawyer, Andrei Andrusenko.
Pope paid the professor an extra 2,000 to 3,000 dollars in cash over and above the sum agreed officially for the transaction, the lawyer however revealed.
The US businessman's firm intended to use the technology for civilian purposes, he said. Russian authorities insist the documents obtained by Pope were classified defense secrets.
Astakhov said Pope's statement contained several new elements in support of his defense which he had not provided to investigators.
"He kept it back until the trial. He did not speak about these things during the pre-trial investigation," Astakhov said.
Pope's trial and continued detention has strained already prickly Russian-US relations, with Washington calling for his immediate release on humanitarian grounds.
The 53-year-old suffers from a rare form of bone cancer which is currently in remission, but supporters say they fear his continued incarceration could reactivate the illness.
Pope is the first US national to stand trial for espionage here since 1960, when Gary Powers' U2 spy plane was downed over the Soviet Union.
Powers was convicted but later exchanged for a Soviet agent working in the United States -- MOSCOW (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
