Robin Raphel exonerated from espionage charges

WASHINGTON: Former American diplomat and Pakistan expert Robin Raphel has been exonerated from the espionage charges. The department of Justice dropped the case on Monday and notified Raphel of its decision not to prosecute her. Raphel's case started when she was accused of spying for Pakistan. In 2014, her office and home were raised by security agencies looking for evidence. The case very quickly degraded to having secret or unauthorised documents at home.

According to her lawyer Amy Jeffress, the investigation was based on a fundamental misunderstanding. In a statement she said, "The department has now completed a lengthy investigation that has fully exonerated Ambassador Raphel of the allegations that anonymous government officials irresponsibly leaked to the press nearly two years ago.”

Raphel was offered a deal initially which her lawyer turned down and decided to fight off the charges. Jeffress added, "It is of the utmost importance to our national security that our diplomats be able to do their work without fearing that their routine diplomatic communications will subject them to criminal investigation."

For decades, Raphel was among the most senior advisers on Pakistan and South Asia. She maintained close ties with Pakistani officials and politicians equally. Our diplomatic correspondent adds: The case lingered on for over a year and in the process Raphel’s home and office were raided by the FBI.

According to the US media, investigations against Raphel began when American investigators intercepted a conversation in which a Pakistani official suggested that his government was receiving American secrets from Raphel, a conversation that led to months of secret surveillance. The Foreign Office though asked several times to comment on FBI closing Raphel’s case, declined to respond.