Soviets expel US diplomat on charges of spying

March 11, 1983

The Soviet Union declared a US diplomat persona non grata on charges of espionage. It was the first time in five years it had publicly taken such action against an American official.

An announcement by the KGB security police said first secretary Richard Osborne had been caught ''red-handed'' in Moscow Monday using espionage radio equipment. A US embassy spokesman would give no information relating to the KGB's charges, but did say the diplomat had not yet left the Soviet capital.