NEW YORK (Sputnik) — Russian national Evgeny Buryakov, who was indicted last February allegedly for gathering information for Russia’s intelligence service, will appear in court for a scheduled hearing on July 29, 2015, US Court Deputy Christine Murray told Sputnik.
"The judge issued an order and is having oral arguments on the motion," Murray said. "[Buryakov] will be present."
Attorneys for Buryakov insist he is innocent and filed a motion on July 17, 2015 to dismiss the indictment, citing that Buryakov was unaware of his alleged wrongdoing.
"Mr. Buryakov has been deprived of due process because he had no fair warning as to the criminality of his actions," lawyers argued, according to court documents obtained by Sputnik.
The hearing was originally expected to take place on July 23, 2015, but was rescheduled to allow the parties for additional time to get acquainted with the case material, Russia’s Consulate General in New York told Sputnik.
Two other Russian nationals, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobny, were also charged in the case, but remained free as they no longer reside in the United States.
Following Buryakov’s arrest, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich accused the United States of detaining Russian citizens without evidence. Lukashevich warned the "anti-Russian campaign" would "undermine" relations between the two countries.
If convicted, Buryakov may face a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
