Russia court sentences police officer for spying for US News
Russia court sentences police officer for spying for US

[JURIST] The Moscow City Court [official website, in Russian] on Thursday convicted a Russian police officer of treason for spying for the US and sentenced him to 15 years in prison. Roman Ushakov was found guilty [AP report] of giving classified information from the Russian Interior Ministry to the CIA in exchange for USD $37,000. The court also stripped [RFE/RL report] Ushakov of his position as police major. This conviction is the latest in ongoing tensions with the west resulting from Russia’s actions in the Ukraine.

Russia’s ongoing conflict [BBC timeline] with Ukraine has reinvigorated fears of Cold War Era politics and increased tensions between Russia and the west. Last month US Secretary of State John Kerry announced [JURIST report] the US was considering sanctions against Russia due to recent events in Ukraine. Also last month a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a statement [JURIST report] revealed that Ban had spoken with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine. Ban expressed concern over the situation and informed Klimkin that the UN would continue to follow the Security Council’s guidance. In February the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for [JURIST report] both sides of the Ukraine conflict to halt “the dangerous escalation in the fighting” in response to the human rights “situation in the east of the country.” In January the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said that at least 5,086 people have been killed [JURIST report] since the conflict in Ukraine began last April but expressed concerns that the real figure may be much higher.

THIS DAY @ LAW

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On July 28, 1938, Alberto Fujimori was born in Lima, Peru. Fujimori became President of Peru exactly 62 years later on July 28, 1990 and served until November 22, 2000, when he fled to Japan under a cloud of allegations involving corruption and human-rights violations. Fujimori was widely credited with restoring Peru's economy and national security during his time in office but was convicted in 2007 of ordering an illegal search and seizure and sentenced to 6 years in prison. In 2009, he was also convicted in a separate trial of human rights violations stemming from his war against domestic terrorists during his time in office. Learn more about Alberto Fujimori and his trial from the archives of the New York Times.

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