Pubdate: Mon, 26 Mar 2001
Source: International Herald-Tribune (France)
Copyright: International Herald Tribune 2001
Contact:  181, Avenue Charles de Gaulle, 92521 Neuilly Cedex, France
Fax: (33) 1 41 43 93 38
Website: http://www.iht.com/

NEW DRUG CHARGE FOR U.S. STUDENT CLEARED OF SPYING

MOSCOW:  Having cleared an American student, John Tobin, of any espionage 
charges, the Russian police indicated Monday they would charge him with a 
more serious violation of Russia's drug laws after marijuana was allegedly 
found in his possession.

It was not clear whether the case of Mr. Tobin, 24, was taking a more 
serious turn following the decision last week by the Bush administration to 
expel 50 Russian diplomats from the United States for alleged espionage 
activity.

But given Mr. Tobin's reserve status in a U.S. Army intelligence unit, it 
seemed likely Monday that his case might be complicated by the larger 
espionage dispute between Russia and the United States as Moscow prepared 
to retaliate with its own expulsions.

The Russian authorities made no formal comment Monday on how many American 
diplomats they intended to send home in response to Washington's actions.

In a diplomatic note Friday, the Foreign Ministry said it was expelling 
four Americans, though it did not initially provide the names of those to 
be expelled to the U.S. Embassy here.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said that further information about 
the expulsions would be delivered through diplomatic channels.

In the police case against Mr. Tobin, a senior investigator in the Russian 
prosecutor's office, Andrei Makarov, told the Reuters news agency that Mr. 
Tobin, already charged with simple possession of marijuana, would face 
charges of being part of a drug ring.
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