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Swiss accuse Russian diplomat of spying BERN, Switzerland (AP) - A Russian diplomat has left Switzerland after he was caught spying, Swiss authorities said Wednesday.
The Federal Police Department said the unidentified diplomat was apprehended last month at a secret meeting with a contact in Bern. Criminal proceedings were impossible because the man was protected by diplomatic immunity, a police statement said.
Police spokesman Juerg Pulver said neutral Switzerland protested to the Russian embassy in Bern.
The diplomat left the country rather than face formal expulsion and would not be allowed to re-enter, Pulver said. He did not say exactly when the diplomat left Switzerland.
Pulver said Russia and other former Soviet countries had been involved in 14 cases of spying in Switzerland in the past 10 years.
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