ALEXANDRIA, Va., (Reuters) – A U.S. judge yesterday ordered three suspects accused of being spies for Russia in the United States to be held pending trial, in a case that has renewed political tensions between Moscow and Washington.
Only one of the 10 suspects in U.S. custody has been granted release pending trial. But Vicky Pelaez, a columnist for the New York Spanish-language daily El Diario, was placed under house arrest and court monitoring in New York.
In Virginia, U.S. District Judge Theresa Buchanan issued the order after the three suspects agreed to waive their right to a hearing to consider release pending trial. The judge set a preliminary hearing on the charges for Wednesday.
Two of the suspects, known as Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills, were living as a couple in a suburb of Washington. After being arrested, they revealed their real names as Mikhail Kutzik and Natalia Pereverzeva and said they were from Russia, according to a letter prosecutors filed with the court.
A third suspect, Mikhail Semenko, also waived a detention hearing. Prosecutors said he was in the United States using his real name.
The three said little during the 10-minute hearing. Pereverzeva looked somewhat bewildered by the proceedings and at one point Kutzik cracked a brief smile.
Prosecutors argued the suspects were too much of a flight risk to be released on bail, pointing to the vast resources Russia could expend to help them flee and to the disappearance of an 11th suspect who is believed to have fled Cyprus after being released from custody on bail.
FBI agents, who tracked the spy ring for at least a decade, swooped in to arrest 10 of the 11 suspects on Sunday after realizing that one was about to flee the country.
Prosecutors said the accused spies spent years in the United States quietly collecting information and trying to meet Americans with political ties.
