【英语国际】俄罗斯间谍认罪 美俄将以间谍换囚犯

Ten members of an alleged Russian spy ring entered guilty pleas to a criminal charge as part of a plea deal with the U.S. government after giving their true names and birth dates in court on Thursday.

The defendants entered guilty pleas to a single count of conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent for a foreign government in federal court in Manhattan. They were sentenced to time served on Thursday and will be immediately expelled from the U.S., the Justice Department said.

Seven of the 10 defendants in court gave different names than the identities they had been living under in the U.S.

'From the 1990s, I lived here under an assumed name and took direction from the Russian Federation,' said Vladimir Guryev, who lived in Montclair, N.J., under the name of 'Richard Murphy.'

The plea deals are expected to speed a swap between the U.S. and Russia of the alleged deep-cover agents for prisoners being held in Russia. U.S. authorities are helping relatives of the alleged agents make arrangements for children of the accused to travel to Russia, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said.

According to a letter filed by prosecutors, the Russian government has agreed to release four prisoners being held there for alleged contact with Western intelligence agencies. Three were convicted of treason and are serving lengthy prison terms, according to the letter. The prisoners and their families will be released for resettlement, according to the letter.

The Kremlin early Friday announced that President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree formally pardoning four of the convicted spies, the first apparent Russian official confirmation of the deal with the U.S. to swap them for the 10 admitted Russian spies arrested in the U.S. last month, the official RIA-Novosti news agency reported early Friday, citing a Kremlin statement.

The four are Igor Sutyagin, the arms-control specialist who had told relatives earlier this week that he had agreed to participate in the swap, Sergei Skrypal, a military-intelligence officer convicted of spying for the U.K., Alexander Zaporozhsky, a former colonel in the Foreign Intelligence Service and Gennady Vasilenko.

Mr. Sutyagin was convicted in 2004 of spying for the U.S. and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He has always maintained his innocence and his case raise concerns amoung human-rights groups.

Robert Baum, a lawyer for Anna Chapman, said his understanding is the defendants will be taken by bus to a New York-area airport and then flown to Moscow.

U.S. and Russian officials began discussing a possible swap within hours after U.S. federal agents completed their arrests of the alleged agents June 27, a U.S. official familiar with the talks said. Unlike the Cold War days, when Russia and the U.S. met in neutral territory such as Geneva, much of the negotiating occurred in Washington, the official said. Russian officials didn't attempt to deny links to the agents, the official said.

Relatives and advocates of Igor Sutyagin said they believe Mr. Sutyagin has left Russia or will soon leave in what is likely to be the first step in a swap for the accused spies being held in the U.S.

'No one has solid information,' his mother, Svetlana, said by phone from her apartment outside Moscow where she and other family members were awaiting word. 'Nobody has said anything officially and Igor himself hasn't called.'

Earlier reports that Mr. Sutyagin had been sighted in Vienna were based on unconfirmed reports from journalists calling the family for information, family members said. Austrian officials declined to comment on the case.

Mr. Sutyagin, a physicist, told relatives during prison visits Wednesday that he had been hastily moved earlier in the week from the remote prison where he was serving a 15-year sentence to Moscow. He said the move was part of a deal to swap prisoners in Russia for the accused spies arrested in the U.S. Mr. Sutyagin said he was told that he would be taken to Vienna and then the U.K.

Mr. Sutyagin has always denied the charges against him and has been called a political prisoner by human-right advocates. His family and his lawyer said he was compelled to sign a confession as part of the release agreement.

周四，面临刑事指控的俄罗斯间谍团伙的10名成员在法庭上认罪，并提供了他们的真实姓名和出生日期，这是他们与美国政府达成的认罪协议的一部分。

这些被告在曼哈顿联邦法庭认罪，其单一罪名是阴谋充当外国政府的未注册特工。美国司法部(Justice Department)说，他们被判周四入狱，并将立即被驱逐出美国。

10名被告中有七人提供的名字与他们在美国生活时使用的姓名不同。

古里耶夫(Vladimir Guryev)说，从上世纪90年代起，我便以假名在这里生活，并接受俄罗斯联邦的指令。他住在新泽西州，化名为理查德•墨菲(Richard Murphy)。

预计这一认罪协议将加速美俄之间以被控的潜伏特工交换被俄罗斯扣留的囚犯的进程。知情的美国官员说，美国当局正协助被控特工的亲属安排其子女前往俄罗斯。

检察官提交的信函显示，俄罗斯政府已同意释放四名被控与西方情报机构接触的囚犯。其中三人因叛国罪正在服刑，刑期较长。这些囚犯及其家人将被释放并重新安置。

俄官方媒体俄罗斯新闻社(RIA Novosti)引述克里姆林宫的声明称，周五早上，克里姆林宫宣布俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫(Dmitry Medvedev)签署法令正式赦免四名已被定罪的间谍。这显然是俄罗斯首次正式证实与美国签订协议，以这四人交换上个月在美国被捕的10名俄罗斯间谍。10人均已认罪。

这四人分别是军控专家苏佳金(Igor Sutyagin)、被判定为英国充当间谍的军事情报官斯克林派(Sergei Skrypal)、前外国情报局(Foreign Intelligence Service)上校扎普罗斯基(Alexander Zaporozhsky)以及瓦西连科(Gennady Vasilenko)。本周早些时候，苏佳金告诉亲属他已同意参加交换计划。

2004年，苏佳金被判为美国充当间谍并被判处15年徒刑。他一直坚称自己无罪。他的案件引发了人权组织的关注。

查普曼(Anna Chapman)的律师鲍姆(Robert Baum)说，据他理解，这些被告将乘汽车前往纽约地区的机场，然后乘飞机前往莫斯科。

知情的美国官员透露，美国联邦特工于6月27日完成了对上述10人的抓捕任务。在此之后的几小时内，美俄官员便开始讨论可能的交换事宜。冷战时期，俄罗斯与美国会在瑞士等中立国会面。与那时不同，此次大多数谈判在华盛顿进行。俄罗斯官员并未试图否认与这些特工的联系。

苏佳金的亲属和支持者说他们相信苏佳金已经离开或将很快离开俄罗斯。这很可能是美俄特工交换计划的第一步。

他的母亲斯维特拉娜(Svetlana)在电话中说，没人有确切的消息，没有人正式说过什么，苏佳金自己也没打电话来。他的母亲和家人正在莫斯科郊外的公寓中等消息。

他的家人说，之前曾有记者打电话来向他们询问消息。关于在维也纳见到苏佳金的消息正是基于这些记者发出的未经证实的报道。奥地利官员拒绝就此事置评。

周三探监时，物理学家苏佳金对亲属说，本周早些时候他从原先服刑（15年徒刑）的偏远监狱匆忙转移到莫斯科。他说此举是俄罗斯用囚犯交换在美国被捕特工协议的一部分。他被告知将被带到维也纳，然后送往英国。

苏佳金始终否认对他的指控。人权组织称他是政治犯。他的家人及律师说，作为释放协议的一部分，他被迫签署了认罪书。