US court releases Indian-origin defence expert prior to trial in espionage case
A court in the United States has ordered the release of Ashley Tellis, an Indian-American national security expert and long-time adviser to Washington, prior to his trial in an espionage case, The Times of India reported on Thursday.
His attorneys, promising full cooperation in the matter, cited Tellis’ “lifelong commitment to American national security”.
Tellis, who serves as a consultant with the US State Department, was arrested on October 11 and charged with illegally removing classified files from a government facility.
He was taken into custody after investigators found more than a thousand documents with classified markings in his home in Virginia. Classified material was also found in three trash bags during a search conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that weekend.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation affidavit also stated that Tellis met Chinese government officials multiple times in the past several years. It was not immediately clear from the affidavit what information, if any, Tellis allegedly may have shared with Chinese officials.
In a preliminary appearance before Judge Lindsey Robinson Vaala of the Eastern District of Virginia, Tellis’ defence team described the case against him as “an overreach against a patriot”, India Today reported.
The team claimed that Tellis had been caught in the crosshairs of Washington’s tightening counterintelligence climate, adding that his actions stemmed from “scholarly curiosity,...
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