American imprisoned in Russia given new 15-year jail term for “espionage”

A Russian-born U.S. citizen already imprisoned in Russia on a bribery conviction has been handed a second 15-year jail term for espionage, Russian news agencies reported Tuesday.

A Moscow court brought espionage charges against Gene Spector in August 2023, although details surrounding the case were not made public.

Spector, whose Russian name is Yevgeny Mironovich, local news agencies reported, was born in 1972 in Leningrad.

Formerly an executive at a medical equipment company in Russia, Spector was previously sentenced to 3-and-a-half years in prison in September 2022 for enabling bribes to an aide of former Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

The aide, Anastasia Alekseyeva, was sentenced to 12 years in April for taking bribes in the form  of two expensive overseas vacation trips.

Dvorkovich was a deputy prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev in 2012-2018. He currently heads the international chess federation FIDE.

Russia has detained and sentenced a number of dual-U.S. nationals and U.S. citizens in recent years. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was convicted of espionage in July and released in August as part of a prisoner exchange along with former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.