NY judge grants 1 Russian 'spy' bail

A New York judge on Thursday granted the release on $250,000 bail of Vicky Pelaez, one of the 11 suspects accused by the United States of spying for Russia. Well-known journalist Pelaez will be placed under house arrest no earlier than June 6, after the Independence Day long weekend. Ten people were arrested in the United States on Sunday on suspicion of being part of a Russian espionage ring. An 11th suspect was detained on Tuesday in Cyprus, but reports on Wednesday said police on the island were looking for him after he apparently skipped bail. Three spy suspects remain in jail in New York: Vicky Pelaez's husband, Juan Lazaro, and Cynthia and Richard Murphy. The bail hearings of the other suspects have been delayed. Judge Ronald Ellis explained his decision by saying that Palaez was the only suspect who did not conceal her name and nationality. He also said Palaez was a U.S. citizen and did not appear to be trained as a spy. Pelaez has in the past been a vocal critic of White House policies on immigration, human rights, Cuba and Israel. Before immigrating to the United States, she was a television reporter in her native Peru. In New York, she worked for the Spanish-language paper El Diario La Prensa. The prosecutor at the hearing said the allegations are just the tip of the ice berg. He said FBI agents had found new evidence on searching the homes of the suspects. In the Murphys' house large sums of money in different currencies were found. The prosecutor said that the children of the suspects knew nothing about the spy work being carried out by their parents. Moscow said on Tuesday that members of the spy ring were Russians, but denied they had acted against the United States.

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