Washington, 4 June 1997 (RFE/RL) - A convicted American spy for Russia is to receive a prison sentence this week for selling secrets about Chechnya and other matters to Russian officials.
Federal prosecutors have said they will not ask for the maximum life sentence because the spy, Harold Nicholson, has cooperated with U.S. investigators.
They said he told them he had spied for Russia since June 1994, turning over the names of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency operatives and recruits, as well as what the U.S. knew about internal Russian developments. Nicholson confessed to receiving a total of $300,000 from the Russians.
U.S. justice officials said that because of his willingness to cooperate, instead of life in prison, they will recommend a lighter term of under 24 years.
Nicholson, a senior CIA official aged 46 years, pleaded guilty to espionage in March. He is expected to go before a local court in the Washington area on Thursday to be sentenced.