A Russian court has convicted American corporate security executive Paul Whelan of espionage.
MOSCOW — A Russian court convicted an American corporate security executive Monday of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison after a closed trial that the U. S. denounced as a “mockery of justice,” and it angrily said his treatment in jail was “appalling.”
Paul Whelan, a former Marine from Novi, Michigan, has insisted he was innocent, saying he was set up when he was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 while he was visiting Russia to attend a friend’s wedding.
”We have serious concerns that Mr. Whelan was deprived of the fair trial guarantees that Russia is required to provide him in accordance with its international human rights obligations,” U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
The 50-year-old Whelan, who also holds British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, has publicly complained of poor prison conditions and has said his life is in danger. Two weeks ago, Whelan underwent a hernia operation, which his twin brother, David, described as “emergency surgery… which is never a good sign.”
He said his brother had been allowed one phone call in 18 months and had voiced concern about coronavirus infections in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, where he was being held.
Pompeo said the U. S. was “outraged” by the verdict and noted that Paul Whelan’s treatment “has been appalling,” adding that authorities ignored his medical condition and kept him isolated from family and friends.
He called the proceedings “a secret trial, with secret evidence and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses.
