The US State Department said on Tuesday that it “strongly opposes” the reported detention of Robert Shonov, a former employee of the US post in Russia, and that charges that he illegally coordinated with foreigners are “wholly without merit.” According to Russian state news agency TASS, Shonov was captured in the far eastern city of Vladivostok but was being kept at Moscow’s Lefortovo jail, which is generally reserved for serious offenses such as spying.
Shonov, a Russian national, worked for the US Consulate General in Vladivostok for more than 25 years until Russia ordered the mission’s local employees to be terminated in 2021, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement on Tuesday. Shonov was employed by a company hired to offer services to the US embassy in Moscow at the time of his arrest, and his function was to produce summaries of Russian media stories, Miller said, adding that this arrangement complied with Russian laws and regulations.
Turkey summons Germany’s envoy in response to the detention of Turkish journalists:
According to the Foreign Ministry, Turkey summoned the German ambassador in Ankara on Wednesday to voice its disgust and complaint over the imprisonment in Germany of two journalists from a pro-government Turkish publication. German police invaded the Frankfurt office of the Turkish daily Sabah and detained two journalists early Wednesday, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, the journalists were held following a complaint by a member of the network of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Ankara accuses the Gulen network of staging a coup attempt in 2016 and declares it a terrorist organization. The foreign ministry also asked Germany to release jailed journalists immediately.
An Israeli police officer was sentenced to 52 months in prison for selling firearms to settle a debt:
The Police Internal Investigation Department said on Sunday that a police officer had been sentenced to 52 months in jail for the sale of stolen firearms. Officer Sharaf Nasr el-Din was convicted as part of a plea bargain. In 2021, el-Din allegedly took an M-16 gun from the home of a Border Police officer friend. This firearm was later used in a shooting attempt in Deir Hana. El-Din allegedly attempted to repay loans he had taken out and failed to repay.
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