Valery Mikhailov, Retired Russian Colonel, Convicted Of Spying For US

The Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

MOSCOW -- A Moscow court has convicted a retired colonel from Russia's counterintelligence agency of spying on behalf of the United States and sentenced him to 18 years in prison.

District Military Court spokeswoman Irina Zhirnova said it convicted Valery Mikhailov on Wednesday of passing state secrets to representatives of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. She said Mikhailov would be stripped of his rank and sent to a high-security prison.

Mikhailov's conviction is the latest in a series of espionage cases that come amid tensions between Moscow and Washington.

Last week, a retired Russian military officer was also found guilty of spying for the U.S. and handed a 12-year prison sentence. And earlier last month, a defense company worker received an eight-year sentence on charges of betraying missile secrets.

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