Putin says he will pardon U.S. businessman

Saturday, December 9th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

MAGNITOGORSK, Russia (AP) _ President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that he will pardon American businessman Edmond Pope, who was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Putin's comments came a day after the Russian presidential pardons commission recommended that the 54-year-old Pennsylvania native be released and sent home, citing his recent bout of bone cancer and the poor health of his father.

The Russian president, on a tour of industrial facilities in the Ural region, said he wanted to maintain good relations with the United States, which had denounced Pope's conviction as unwarranted and called for his swift release.

Putin said he discussed the case with President Clinton, who had expressed concern about Pope's health. Putin said he assured the American president that Pope would be pardoned and released. He did not say when he spoke to Clinton.

The case has cast a shadow over the sometimes strained U.S.-Russian relations ever since Pope was arrested April 3 and jailed in Moscow's foreboding Lefortovo Prison. It was the first time in some 40 years that an American had been convicted in Russia on espionage charges.

On Saturday, Putin also cited the recommendation of the pardons commission, and said he could only agree with the opinion of such a respected body. He did not give a specific date for the pardon, but said it would be some time after Dec. 14 because of a regulation that clemency may not be granted until a week after sentencing.

During a visit to the United States in September, Putin had said the judicial process would have to be completed before he would intervene. Russian media have noted that his stance allowed the security services to flex their muscles while leaving the way open for him to demonstrate humaneness.

The Segodnya daily wrote Friday that the Kremlin could ``kill several birds with one stone'' by giving the U.S. administration the gift of Pope's freedom.

``The FSB can save face, Putin can demonstrate that he's not beholden to outside pressure and Russian scientists are given a lesson about the consequences of 'para-scientific' contacts with foreigners,'' the newspaper noted.

A Moscow court sentenced Pope, a former U.S. navy intelligence officer, to a maximum prison term of 20 years this week on charges of obtaining information about a top-secret torpedo.

Pope insisted he was not a spy, and that information about the torpedo was freely available. The American businessman runs a company that specializes in technology information.

Defense attorneys and independent observers criticized the Moscow court that convicted Pope, saying it was biased in favor of the Russian security services. The defense said the court had done everything to impede Pope's case while actively assisting the prosecution.

Pardons commission member Marietta Chudakova had said Friday's unanimous decision by the commission was a protest against ``alarming signs in the atmosphere today.''

``The investigative and judicial organs of our country have remained in the Soviet era to a greater extent than society (as a whole),'' the Interfax news agency quoted her as saying.

Commission head Anatoly Pristavkin said members of the pardons commission had found the court's verdict quite harsh. ``But we do not judge or discuss the court's decision, but instead base our actions on the laws of charity and humanity,'' he said.

Pope, from State College, Pa., is a former naval officer and the founder of CERF Technologies, International, which specializes in studying foreign maritime equipment.

On Thursday, Pope appealed to Putin to free him.

``This letter is my appeal to free me from prison to enable me to return to Pennsylvania to join my family and to improve my health,'' Pope's lawyer, Pavel Astakhov, quoted the letter as saying.

``I feel bad and need urgent medical aid,'' Astakhov read from a Russian translation of the letter. ``I appeal to you, asking you to resolve the question as soon as possible, as my father is terminally ill and I would like to see him for the last time.''