U.S.-GHANA SPY SWAP SEEN AS TWO ADMIT LINK TO CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00965R000605540009-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 3, 2012
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: November 20, 1985
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605540009-6
ARTICLE APPEAR
ON PAGE
WASHINGTON TIMES
2O November 1985
U.S.-Ghana spy swap seen
as two admit link to CIA
~/( B -Ed Rogers
_-itiE_wasHwerorv-7JMES I
Mr. Soussoudis, 39, has been
charged with receiving U.S. secrets,
Guilty pleas filed in Ghana ester- including the names of CIA infor-
dbtwo men accused Ghana s mants and Ghanaian dissidents,
day
for a they CIA set off cusedlation in from Sharon Scranage, 29, while she
the U.S. government may attempt to cra, Ghana, from 1983 to office
1985. Ac
save their lives by making a spy Disclosures of the spy operation
swap with the West African nation. last July led to fears that U.S. intelli-
The two Ghanaians, who face a gence sources in Ghana had been
possible death penalty, are expected placed in grave jeopardy.
to be sentenced today, according to The Ghanaian defendants were
the national news agency GNA. identified as Theodore Atiedu, a po-
The plea changes were made one lice inspector formerly with Ghana's
day after U.S. officials postponed the Bureau of National Investigations,
trial of a Ghanaian spy suspect, Mi- and Felix Peasah, a security officer
chael Agbotui Soussoudis, who is be- at the U.S. Embassy.
lieved to be a first cousin of Ghana's They*
hey changed their pleas from i
ruler, Flight Lt. Jerry Rawlings. not guilty as their trial resumed
The postponement, until Dec. 9, after a four-week interruption,
was arranged at a closed court hear- which their lawyers obtained so they
ing Monday in Alexandria, Va., that could study the charges against the
was attended by Ghanaian Ambas- men.
sador Eric Otoo and four embassy The closed hearing before U.S.
aides. District Judge Claude Hilton
The U.S. attorney's office said the brought about a third postponement
hearing was closed in compliance of Mr. Soussoudis' trial date. Assis-
with the Classified Information Pro- tant U.S. Attorney Justin Williams
cedures Act because the trial evi- said there may be another closed
dence may include national security hearing on Dec. 9.
information. Miss Scranage admitted her col-
Neither U.S. nor Ghanaian offi- laboration with Mr. Soussoudis, who
cials would explain why a foreign was said to be her lover, after she
ambassador was allowed to attend a was transferred to the CIA head-
hearing that was closed to the public quarters in Washington and was
to prevent a possible breach of na- tripped up by a routine polygraph
tional security. "It is a ve test.
ter" ti a versy aide said. sensitive mat- In papers filed with the court, she
The combisy aid the admitted revealing the identities of
guilty CIA agents and officials in Ghana to
pleas in Ghana, the trial postpone- Mr. Soussoudis, knowing that he was
ment in this country and the ambas- delivering the information to
sador's presence at the closed court Ghanaian officials.
hearing led to speculation that some- She pleaded guilty to two of 15
thing more than routine pre-trial espionage counts and agreed to
matters was involved. testify against Mr. Soussoudis.
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/07/03: CIA-RDP90-00965R000605540009-6