Russia has sentenced a former US employee to nearly five years in prison Court Affairs

The US had condemned the arrest of Robert Shonov, who worked for more than 25 years in the closed facilities in Vladivostok.

A Russian court sentenced a former US diplomat to four years and 10 months in prison for “secret cooperation with a foreign country,” state media reported.

Robert Shonov, a Russian citizen and former employee of the now-closed US mission in Vladivostok, was sentenced Friday in the Primorsky District Court in the Far Eastern city.

The court also ordered him to pay a fine of 1 million rubles (R10 200) and face additional restrictions for 16 months after completing his prison sentence.

Shonov was arrested in May 2023. The Federal Security Service (FSB) charged him with “gathering information” about Russia’s war in Ukraine after its February 2022 invasion.

The FSB said Shonov provided information to US embassy staff in Moscow about how Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine affects political discontent within Russia ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Last year, the US State Department condemned his arrest and said the allegations against Shonov were “baseless”.

He was charged under a new article that charges “secret cooperation with a foreign country, international or foreign organization to facilitate their activities clearly aimed at the security of Russia”.

Human rights lawyers say the law is so broad that it can be used to punish any Russian with ties to other countries. It carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.

The State Department said Shonov worked at the consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years. The consulate was closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and has not been reopened.

He worked for a US company contracted to support the embassy in Moscow after the Russian government’s order in April 2021 required the dismissal of all local staff at US embassies in the country.

At the time of his arrest, his main job as an independent contractor was “compiling press summaries for publicly available Russian media,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in May 2023.

“The fact that you are being prosecuted under the ‘secret cooperation’ law highlights the Russian Federation’s use of laws that oppress its own citizens,” the State Department said, as it accused Russia of trying to intimidate and harass Washington staff.

In September 2023, Russia again expelled two American diplomats it suspected of being Shonov’s contacts.