Russia Frees American Convicted of Spying

MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin today pardoned American businessman Edmond Pope, who had been sentenced to 20 years in prison on espionage charges, the Kremlin said.

The Interfax news agency said Pope was released from Lefortovo prison.

A presidential spokesman said that Putin had pardoned Pope and cleared the way for him to leave Russian immediately. A U.S. Embassy doctor was expected to check Pope’s health and determine whether he could fly to the United States.

Pope’s conviction last week on charges of obtaining plans for a top-secret Russian Navy torpedo prompted a diplomatic confrontation between Washington and Moscow. The U.S. government criticized the court that convicted Pope, with observers saying it was heavily biased in favor of the Russian security services.

Putin, who is on a visit to Cuba, had indicated last week that he would release Pope on humanitarian grounds. The former American naval officer has suffered from a rare form of bone cancer, which his family fears may have returned during the eight months he has been held in Russia.

Today was the first day that Putin could pardon Pope under Russian law.

Pope’s wife, Cheri, went to the prison earlier in the day along with U.S. Embassy officers. Pope has protested his innocence, saying that the plans he purchased were not secret and that the technology had already been sold abroad and published in open sources.