Paul Whelan: Former US Marine held on espionage charges in Russia speaks in public for first time
Paul Whelan, the former US marine held on espionage charges in Russia, has spoken in public for the first time since his arrest, saying he feels “fine”.
A court in Moscow ruled the 49-year-old, who holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, should be held for a further three months in a pre-trial detention facility to permit investigators more time to probe the case.
Mr Whelan appeared in court in a cage on Friday when he spoke briefly to reporters before masked security officials cut him off. He said he felt “fine”.
“I could do with care packages, food, things like that, letters from home,” he added, according to Reuters.
Mr Whelan was detained in a Moscow hotel room on December 28 and accused of espionage, a charge he denies. If found guilty, he could be imprisoned for up to 20 years, the news agency said.
It added that the case had further strained and already poor relationship between the US and Russia.
Russia’s federal security service detained Mr Whelan after an acquaintance handed him a flash drive containing classified information. Mr Whelan’s lawyer says his client was misled.
Mr Whelan had met the same person in the town of Sergiev Possad in May last year where they visited the town’s monastery and other tourist sites, the lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, told reporters on Friday.
When Whelan returned to Russia again in December to attend a wedding, the same acquaintance unexpectedly turned up and gave him a flash drive containing what Mr Whelan thought were photographs of the earlier trip, the lawyer said.
“Paul and I consider this was a provocation and a crime by his acquaintance,” said Mr Zherebenkov,
The US embassy in Moscow said a consular official had visited Mr Whelan in custody on Thursday.
