A Moscow court suspended the espionage trial of Edmund Pope for two days Tuesday after the US businessman, who suffers from a rare form of cancer, complained of severe back problems, his lawyer said.
"The prison doctor gave him a medical certificate which confirms that Pope is suffering from acute lower back trouble" and other bone ailments, attorney Pavel Astakhov told reporters in the Moscow court house.
"The trial has been interrupted until November 2," he said.
Pope, 54, was arrested in early April and charged with stealing secret designs for Russia's high-speed Shkval torpedo system.
The former US naval intelligence officer, who denies acting illegally, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
US officials, who have repeatedly called on the Moscow court to drop the case and allow Pope to return to the United States for medical treatment, were not immediately available to comment on the decision.
The refusal to allow Pope to have doctor's visits prompted the US State Department to urge caution to business travelers going to Russia and the case has sparked high-level discussions between the two sides, including between President Bill Clinton and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
Washington insists there is no evidence that Pope violated any Russian law and has demanded his immediate release, while US lawmakers have urged Clinton to impose sanctions against Russia if Pope is not freed.
Cheri Pope, who was allowed to visit her husband in prison last week, said in a US television interview Monday that she was growing increasingly concerned about her husband's health.
Pope suffers from a rare form of bone cancer which is currently in remission, but his supporters fear the strain of incarceration could prompt a relapse.
"He's not doing very well," his wife told NBC television, noting the recent appearance on her husband's neck of a suspicious lump and Russian authorities' denial of persistent requests to allow him to be treated by an independent physician.
"He's very fragile, he's tired and he's exhausted," she said. "He has a lump on his neck and I am very concerned about that."
Before the suspension of the trial Tuesday, a witness told the court that Pope was interested in technology of dual civilian and military use but there was nothing illegal about his activities, defense lawyers said.
The witness, Alexei Malyarovsky, "is a scientific expert and translator. He said his view is that Pope was acting within the law," Astakhov said.
Pope's marine technology firm obtained details of naval designs from several Russian institutions -- information he insisted was not classified.
"Any one who is interested in dual technologies is always suspected of espionage," the lawyer added -- MOSCOW (AFP)
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