MOSCOW: An American rejected his US citizenship in a Moscow court on Thursday, saying he was the victim of political persecution in the United States, Russian state news agencies reported.
The defendant, Joseph Tater, was in court over prosecutors’ allegations he assaulted a police officer after abusing staff at a hotel in the Russian capital in August.
In an appeal hearing at the Moscow City Court he criticized the US government and media outlets, demanded two embassy officials leave and said he had been targeted by the CIA for years.
“My life is being threatened in the United States,” Russian state news agencies quoted him as saying in court.
He alleged the CIA had killed his mother while she was in hospital and that he had been arrested in the US on false charges.
His lawyer told the judge he had come to Russia “with the purpose of obtaining political asylum in connection with persecution by the relevant authorities in the US.”
Addressing two US embassy officials in the court, Tater was quoted as saying: “I am no longer a US citizen, I ask you to leave the courtroom.”
He also demanded American journalists — “especially CNN” — and “journalists from Ukraine” leave the hearing, the agencies reported.
The court rejected his appeal against being held in pre-trial detention until at least October. He faces up to five years in prison.
Russia has arrested several US citizens in recent years on charges ranging from espionage and criticizing the Russian army to petty theft and family disputes.
During the Ukraine offensive and amid tensions with the West, President Vladimir Putin has made it easier for Western citizens to relocate to Russia on political grounds.
Under a decree issued earlier this year, individuals who oppose their countries’ “destructive neoliberal ideology” can apply for residency in Russia without having to pass usual tests on Russian language, history and laws.
American rejects US citizenship in Russian court: agencies
https://arab.news/8d938
American rejects US citizenship in Russian court: agencies
- The defendant, Joseph Tater, was in court over prosecutors’ allegations he assaulted a police officer after abusing staff at a hotel in the Russian capital in August
- In an appeal hearing at the Moscow City Court, he criticized the US government and media outlets, demanded two embassy officials leave
Spain eyes full service on train tragedy line in 10 days
- The Jan. 18 disaster in the southern region of Andalusia partially shut the line linking Madrid and Seville
- “After the replacement, the whole of the Madrid-Seville line will resume service,” said Puente
MADRID: Spain aims to restart within 10 days full service on a key high-speed railway line where a collision between two trains killed 45 people, the transport minister said on Wednesday.
The January 18 disaster in the southern region of Andalusia — one of Europe’s deadliest such accidents this century — partially shut the line linking Madrid and the city of Seville as investigators cleared the wreckage and collected evidence.
“Today we have received legal permission to proceed with the replacement of the infrastructure in the section of the accident,” Transport Minister Oscar Puente wrote on X.
“Our aim is that it is completed in a timeframe of approximately 10 calendar days. After the replacement, the whole of the Madrid-Seville line will resume service,” he added.
The line was Spain’s first high-speed rail connection when it opened in 1992, with the network expanding to become the world’s second-largest after China’s and a source of national pride.
But the accident has raised doubts about the safety of rail travel in the country.
A preliminary report released last week suggested the track was cracked before a train run by private firm Iryo derailed and smashed into an oncoming service operated by state company Renfe.
