Fugitive former world chess champion Bobby Fischer, in custody in Japan since July, will soon receive a visit from a U.S. government representative, the State Department said Tuesday.
"We have been in touch with Mr. Fischer concerning his request for a consular visit, and a consular officer will visit Mr. Fischer soon," State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said.
Fischer sent a letter to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell earlier this month demanding that the United States send a consular officer to process his renunciation of U.S. citizenship. The United States rescinded Fischer's passport after he violated U.N. sanctions against the former Yugoslavia by going there to play chess in 1992.
While Fischer awaits word on his renunciation of citizenship, the fate that awaits him if he returns to the United States is in the hands of the judicial system, Ereli said.