Russia spy suspects to move to New York federal court

Ten suspected Russian spies are being moved to New York to face charges they acted as unauthorised foreign agents.

The suspects are due to appear together in a federal court on Thursday.

Meanwhile, reports from Russia suggest the US may opt to deport the 10 in exchange for Russian prisoners.

Neither Russian nor US authorities have commented on the reports. The lawyer of a man jailed in Russia for spying for the CIA is reported as saying he is to be traded for a person held in the UK.

Anna Stavitskaya, the lawyer for scientist Igor Sutyagin, told the Itar-Tass news agency that Moscow would expel him from Russia in exchange for an unnamed UK detainee.

Sutyagin, a nuclear specialist, is serving a 15-year jail sentence after being convicted of passing information to a UK firm allegedly used as a front by the CIA.

It remains unclear whether the suspects held in New York are to be involved in any swap, but in a move that fuelled speculation, a top US diplomat met the Russian ambassador to Washington.

No details were given of the talks between undersecretary of state for political affairs William Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, and Ambassador Sergei Kislyak other than the fact that the issue of spies came up in the meeting, in which they also discussed Iran.

'Next step'

In New York on Wednesday, a court unsealed an indictment against the 10 alleged Russian agents and an 11th suspect who went missing after being released on bail in Cyprus.

Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said: "As the government indicated would happen when the case began, the defendants are being transported to the Southern District 'Next step' of New York to face the charges against them."

He added: "Today's indictment is the next step in that process."

The federal indictment does not change the charges already filed against the group, which is accused of laundering money and conspiring to act as unlawful agents of a foreign government.

Three of the suspected spies had been due to attend a court hearing in Virginia on Wednesday.

But the hearing was postponed and orders were issued to transport them "promptly to the Southern District of New York for further proceedings".

Two others were to be transported from Boston.

No reason has been given for the transfer to New York, where the other suspects are in custody.

The 10 accused were arrested last month on suspicion of working as illegal agents for the Russian government.

The crime is less serious than espionage but carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

On Wednesday, the New York Times quoted sources close to the case as saying the federal government was seeking a rapid resolution.

Meanwhile, the US government said it would appeal against a New York judge's decision to allow one suspect, Vicky Pelaez, to be released on bail.

The court will hear arguments in the matter on Friday.

In Russia, Sutyagin was quoted as saying that he expected to be put on flights to Vienna, then London, on Thursday.

According to his brother, Dmitry, he said he had been told by Russian officials that he would be released and sent to the UK in exchange for an unknown number of spies.

The officials met Sutyagin on Monday at a prison in Arkhangelsk, northern Russia, and US officials were at the meeting, the brother said.

After Monday's meeting, the prisoner was reportedly moved to Moscow's Lefortovo prison.

Sutyagin's lawyer, Ms Stavitskaya, told Reuters that her client had agreed to be swapped "as he had no other choice left".

"He knew that otherwise his whole life would be broken but he still insists he is innocent," she said.

Russian media quote a member of Sutyagin's family as saying he had seen a list of names of prisoners likely to be swapped by Russia, including Sergei Skripal.

Skripal is a Russian military intelligence (GRU) officer convicted of spying for the UK in 2006.

 BBC