【英语国际】美国驱逐俄罗斯间谍案第12名嫌疑人

A 12th suspect in the Russian spy-ring case that erupted last month was deported by the U.S. on Tuesday, sent home without being charged with a crime.

Alexev Karetnikov, 23 years old, was flown back to Russia from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to U.S. officials. His detention was first reported in The Wall Street Journal.

He hasn't been charged as a secret agent, but had been held at least last week on immigration violations. Matthew Chandler, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said Mr. Karetnikov admitted he was in the U.S. illegally and voluntarily agreed to leave.

U.S. officials had been tight-lipped about the detention of a 12th suspect in the case; it wasn't disclosed in court papers concerning 11 other agents who were previously identified.

Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence agents have been investigating the man since last fall, when his name surfaced in the decade-long espionage case, according to an official familiar with the matter.

It isn't clear why he attracted scrutiny, but Mr. Karetnikov came to agents' attention shortly after he entered the U.S. in October 2009. He had obtained a visa two months earlier.

U.S. officials canceled the man's visa on June 26, a day before FBI agents rounded up 10 of the 11 members of the undercover ring who were in the U.S. The 11th suspect jumped bail in Cyprus after he was arrested there.

The official familiar with the case said investigators weren't able to gather enough evidence against Mr. Karetnikov to bring criminal charges, and concluded his case wasn't like that of the 11 others. It wasn't clear if he had the same training from Russia's SVR intelligence agency that the others are believed to have received.

周二，在没有提起刑事诉讼的情况下，美国将上个月曝出的俄罗斯间谍案中的第12名嫌疑人遣返回国。

美国官员说，23岁的卡列特尼科夫(Alexev Karetnikov)从纽约肯尼迪国际机场(John F. Kennedy International Airport)起飞，被送回了俄罗斯。《华尔街日报》率先报道了他被美国关押一事。

他没有因特工罪名而被起诉，但至少是在上个星期因违反移民法规而被关押。美国国土安全部(Department of Homeland Security)发言人钱德勒(Matthew Chandler)说，卡列特尼科夫承认他非法滞留美国，并主动同意离开。

此前美国官员对关押间谍案第12名嫌疑人一事只字未提。其余11名特工的身份在先前已被公开，有关他们的法庭文件没有透露此事。

一位知情官员说，去年秋季，这名男子的姓名出现在这起长达10年之久的反间谍调查当中，此后联邦调查局(FBI)的反间谍调查人员一直在对他进行调查。

还不清楚卡列特尼科夫为什么引起了调查人员的注意，但他在2009年10月份进入美国后不久就被美国特工盯上。他的美国签证是在入境前两个月获得的。

美国官员在6月26日撤销了这名男子的签证。一天后，FBI特工逮捕了间谍网络11名成员中在美国的10人。第11人在塞浦路斯被捕，后来弃保潜逃。

前述知情官员说，调查人员未能搜集到足够证据对卡列特尼科夫发起刑事诉讼，并得出结论认为，他的案子不同于其余11人。据信其他人接受了俄罗斯对外情报局(SVR)的训练，卡列特尼科夫有没有得到同样的训练，尚不可知。