A U.S. citizen was sentenced to 16 years in Russia for espionage
Xinhua News Agency, Moscow, June 15. The Supreme Court of Moscow, Russia ruled on the 15th that American citizen Paul Whelan was guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. Whelan's team of lawyers has decided to appeal the verdict.
The Moscow City Supreme Court website published the news on the same day, saying that the case was not open for trial because it involved state secrets.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said on the 15th that Russia had previously proposed to the US to exchange US citizens serving sentences in Russia with Russian citizens serving sentences in the US.
According to a report by the TASS Agency on the 15th, Whelan’s attorney Relebiankov said that after seeking Whelan’s opinion on the verdict, his team of lawyers has decided to appeal. Regarding the possibility of using Whelan to exchange Russian citizens serving sentences in the United States, the issue needs to be resolved after the appeal is completed and the judgment against Whelan comes into effect.
US Secretary of State Pompeo said in a statement that the US side expressed indignation over the judgment of Whelan after the secret trial by the Russian court, expressed serious concern that Whelan was deprived of the right of fair trial by the Russian side, and asked the Russian side to release Whelan immediately.
Whelan is 50 years old and has British, Canadian and Irish nationalities. The Russian Federal Security Service arrested Whelan in Moscow in December 2018, accusing him of spying. Whelan denied the Russian identification and said he came to Russia to attend a friend's wedding.