The Canadian-born son of a Russian spy couple who inspired the award-winning drama television series, “The Americans,” is reportedly fighting a court battle to keep his citizenship.
Alexander Vavilov, 23, along with his older brother Timothy, 27, were born in Toronto to Andrei Bezrukov and Yelena Vavilova, who operated in the United States under stolen identities since the 1980s. Bezrukov and Vavilova were arrested along with eight other sleeper agents in 2010 and deported to Russia as part of a high-profile exchange.
The Canadian government has appealed to the country's Supreme Court to annul Alexander's citizenship, the Associated Press reported Monday.
“They shouldn’t get to keep their citizenship,” argued David Heathfield, the older brother of the real Donald Heathfield, whose identity was stolen by Andrei Bezrukov.
The Vavilov brothers’ citizenship issue has resurfaced four years after Canadian authorities stopped recognizing Alexander as a Canadian national. Although the decision was upheld in court, Alexander and Timothy won on separate appeals and regained their Canadian passports, setting the stage for the Supreme Court to weigh in.
Canada’s Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Alexander's case this December, the Associated Press reports.
“I don’t pose a threat. I’m a Canadian citizen and I’m here to make my own life,” Alexander Vavilov explained on Canadian television last month. “Why should I suffer for anything they have done?”
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