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CNN Live At Daybreak
John Tobin Returns From Russia
Aired August 09, 2001 - 07:54 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: "Great to be back and great to be free," those are the words of John Tobin as he set foot on American soil. The Fulbright scholar is back home following his ordeal in Russia. The 24-year-old was jailed in Russia, charged with marijuana possession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN TOBIN: I was mostly afraid for my friends and family, too, because I knew that they were home and they had no idea where I was or what my situation was or in what conditions I was -- I was living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCEDWARDS: He was paroled after serving six months of a one year prison sentence and his family actually says that he was framed on drug possession charges because he wouldn't spy for the Russian government.
And joining us now in our New York bureau is Tobin's father, John Tobin Sr., and Congressman Jim Maloney of Connecticut. Congressman Maloney was involved in securing the son's release.
Thank you both for being here.
(CROSSTALK)
MCEDWARDS: Mr. Tobin, it must be good to have your son back on U.S. soil?
JOHN TOBIN SR, JOHN TOBIN'S FATHER: It sure is. It's nice to wake up this morning and realize Jack's free. I mean that's what we've been working so hard for six months.
MCEDWARDS: You said that he was framed on those drug charges. Can you tell us more about that? Did he actually have marijuana on him when he was arrested?
J. TOBIN: Well, he says not. I'm going to have to let him tell his story. It's pretty interesting. It's even better than I thought, but I'm not going to steal his thunder. They definitely didn't like him down in that region, or at least some of the authorities didn't. His friends did, but...
MCEDWARDS: What do you mean by that, the authorities didn't like him?
J. TOBIN: Well, I think they perceived him as a threat, or possibly someone who could be valuable to them to help them understand what was going on with the other students in the region, other foreigners. I'm not sure of all of that yet.
MCEDWARDS: Well, so are you saying, were they sort of courting him for information -- for intelligence information?
J. TOBIN: I don't -- I don't think he was to be courted. I think they constructed a nice little setup that was fairly well planned out. That's very evident. But Jack has to tell that story. I don't know all of it yet. I did not quiz him about all of that. I was just listening a lot. You've got to remember he's only out now since last Friday. We got to see him on Sunday afternoon and then just came back with him yesterday so...
MCEDWARDS: Sure, I understand. What was his time like in jail? How has he described that to you?
J. TOBIN: Well, he's said -- I think we just heard that he -- it wasn't -- a lot of it wasn't that bad. The first part of it was horrible because they -- you know he just didn't -- he didn't know what was going to happen to him, he didn't know what charges were going to be brought. He didn't even see an attorney, I don't think, for a couple of weeks. He certainly knew that his family didn't know what he was going through and that was the thing that bothered him the most, that he was actually being treated fairly and that he wasn't being, you know, beat up and he wasn't being molested. And you know it was frustrating for him not to be able to let his family know that he was really doing all right.
MCEDWARDS: And Rep. Maloney, what role did you play in securing his release?
REP. JIM MALONEY (D), CONNECTICUT: Well, I just tried to make sure we mobilized every possible means of support through the State Department, through the Embassy in Moscow, through ultimately the White House, the National Security Council. And of course by building all that support, we eventually got President Bush to raise the Tobin issue with President Putin when they met in Genoa just a little more than two weeks ago. And I think that was the key development by getting that to occur.
Then President Putin pretty clearly put the word out to get Jack set free. The warden in the prison later that same week said that Jack should be eligible for parole. A few days after that, the parole board voted to let him go and then just a few days after that, the court officially released him.
So I think it was very important that we mobilized all kinds of support, other members of Congress, members of the Senate and, of course, the hometown writing letters and making telephone calls, the family. Everyone did a great job. My job was to mobilize all of that and to coordinate it and bring it to bear and I'm delighted that we were successful in doing that. MCEDWARDS: You know, Rep. Maloney, a lot of U.S. students study in Russia. Even I studied there as a student for a few months. Is it safe for U.S. students there now, do you think?
MALONEY: I think it is safe. I think that several things are unique in the Tobin case. One, I believe that the head of the secret police, the FSB in Voronezh, was a new person kind of trying to make his point or make his stripes, trying to impress the bosses. I think that was unique. I think also Jack Tobin, as a military reservist with some military intelligence background, was something unique as a target for him. So I think it's unique.
But I do think that we need to look into the way in which the Fulbright program responded to Jacks' situation. He was -- he was arrested, released and then there was four days before he was taken back into incarceration and held for six months. I do have concerns that we need to make sure that we have a better understanding with host countries that they will not interfere with American scholars in the way they interfered with Jack Tobin and we'll be working on that.
MCEDWARDS: Understood.
Rep. Jim Maloney, John Tobin Sr., thank you both for your time this morning.
J. TOBIN: Thank you.
MALONEY: Thank you.
MCEDWARDS: All right.
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