'Spy' Freed From Russian Prison, Heads Home

M O S C O W, Dec. 14, 2000 -- He’s on his way home. After eight months in a Russian prison, an American businessman sentenced to 20 years in jail on espionage charges has been released and is headed for the U.S.

Speaking on Russian television, Edmond Pope’s lawyer today confirmed the Pennsylvania businessman and former U.S. Navy officer had left Moscow after receiving a pardon from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Pope was released from Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, taken straight to the airport and flown to Frankfurt, Germany, said his lawyer Pavel Astakhov. He is expected to undergo a medical evaluation in Germany before continuing on to the U.S.

Pope suffers from a rare bone cancer that was in remission, but his family fears may have returned.

A presidential spokesman said Putin pardoned Pope on humanitarian grounds and to preserve good relations with Washington. The pardon cited “the health condition of the convict and his personal appeal, and also ... the high level of tiesbetween the Russian Federation and the United States of America.”

Putin, who arrived in Cuba late Wednesday for a visit to the former communist ally, indicated last week he would release Pope. Today was the first day Putin could pardon Pope under Russian law.

Clinton Thanks Putin

The U.S. welcomed the pardon, which removed a considerable irritant in ties just as it became clear that Republican George W. Bush would be the next U.S. president.

President Bill Clinton, on a visit to Britain, thanked Putin for releasing Pope while insisting that Pope’s ordeal was unjustified.

“I welcome today’s release of Edmond Pope after eight months of detention in Russia and appreciate President Putin’s decision to pardon Mr Pope,” Clinton said in a written statement.

Pope’s imprisonment and conviction last week on charges ofobtaining plans for a top-secret Russian Navy torpedo prompted adiplomatic confrontation between Washington and Moscow.

The U.S. government had criticized the court that convicted Pope, with observerssaying it was heavily biased in favor of the Russian securityservices.

It was the first time in 40 years that an American had beenconvicted of espionage in Russia. The case has raised questionsabout the growing power of the security services in Russia, andfueled fears among foreigners trying to do business there.

Pope has protested his innocence, saying that the plans hepurchased were not secret and that the technology had already beensold abroad and published in open sources.

‘Put My Arms Around Him’

Back in the U.S., the Pope family welcomed the news of his release. “It’s like waking up from a horrible nightmare,” said Pope’s mother, Elizabeth, from her home in Grants Pass, Ore. “I will be much happier when I see him and I am able to put my arms around him.”

Pope’s wife Cheri went to the prison early in the day along withU.S. Embassy officers. A clutch of reporters and TV crews waited atthe gates of the high-security prison, which is surrounded by acinderblock wall topped with coiled, barbed wire.

The Security Service said Pope was handed his personal belongings and given the chance to ask questions about the pardon. He had none, the service said.

The release was widely seen as a move by Russia to put the matter behind them. Liliya Shevtsova, a political analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, suggested that Putin had pardoned Pope in hopes of favorable treatment under the Bush administration. “It looks like there was some kind of trade-off,” he said, adding that Pope’s guilt “clearly was not proven.”

ABCNEWS’ Charles Maynes in Moscow and The Associated Press contributed to this report.