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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| US denies bail for Cuba 'spies' | US denies bail for Cuba 'spies' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A retired US State Department employee and his wife, who are charged with spying for Cuba, have been denied bail by a court in Washington DC. | A retired US State Department employee and his wife, who are charged with spying for Cuba, have been denied bail by a court in Washington DC. |
| US Magistrate John Facciola deemed the pair, both in their 70s, a flight risk after prosecutors showed they were planning a Caribbean sailing holiday. | US Magistrate John Facciola deemed the pair, both in their 70s, a flight risk after prosecutors showed they were planning a Caribbean sailing holiday. |
| Walter Kendall Myers and his wife are accused of having passed on information to Cuba for three decades. | Walter Kendall Myers and his wife are accused of having passed on information to Cuba for three decades. |
| The pair deny the charges but face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. | The pair deny the charges but face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty. |
| Prosecutor Michael Harvey told Judge Facciola that the couple, who own a yacht, were "plainly a serious flight risk" and should remain in jail until their court date. | |
| He said a calendar in their home showed a date marked as the start of a sailing trip, with no return date indicated. | |
| Investigators also found sailing charts for Cuban waters in the home, the Associated Press news agency quoted Mr Harvey as saying. | |
| Mr Harvey said that if the couple were able to reach Cuba, they would present "a real and present danger to the United States". | |
| "The Myerses would be greeted as heroes there. They would not be coming back," he said. | |
| Defence lawyers had argued that the pair should be fitted with monitoring devices and allowed to return to their home to be with their children, reported AP. | |
| Lawyer Thomas Green did not comment as he left the courtroom but said the defence would "keep plugging along". | |
| Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has dismissed the allegations against Mr and Mrs Meyers as a "ridiculous tale". | Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has dismissed the allegations against Mr and Mrs Meyers as a "ridiculous tale". |