BIZARRE MOSCOW SPY TRIAL COMES TO INCONCLUSIVE CLOSE.

A former Russian diplomat, arrested on April 11, 1996, and charged with spying for Britain, has been ordered by a Moscow court to undergo compulsory psychiatric treatment and will face prosecution once he is deemed recovered. The decision was a defeat for Platon Obukhov, whose family and legal defense claim that he has been mentally ill since childhood and was not responsible for the espionage actions. Obukhov is also the author of several spy novels, and his attorney says that he lives in a fantasy world of spies and counterspies. The prosecution agrees that Obukhov is mentally ill now, but argues that he was sane while spying for Britain. (Russian agencies, July 28-30)

No Comment from Russian Intelligence on Japanese Allegations.