Today, Monday, the Russian judiciary sentenced 16 years in prison for spying on the former US Navy soldier Paul Whelan who condemned the ruling and considered him "political", while US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded his release, amid warnings that this step would threaten relations between the two countries.
The Moscow court judge - where the trial took place - said Whelan, who has both US and British citizenship, would serve his sentence in a "harsh camp".
Whelan, 50, who appeared before the court behind a glass barrier holding a sign reading "A mock trial," declared his innocence again, asserted immediately after the verdict that he intended to appeal it, and asked US President Donald Trump to intervene for him.
"This is a political trial ... a flawed trial ... We have proven my innocence," he said before the ruling. "I need the American president and the prime minister of Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom to intervene decisively," said Whelan, who also holds Canadian and Irish citizenship.
Accusations and denial
Russia accuses Whelan of being an American intelligence officer, but the latter denies it and says, cynically, that the Russians claim "they stopped James Bond while on a mission", while in fact they "kidnapped (Mister Ben) while on vacation", referring to the famous spy and character The clumsy comic played by British actor Rowan Atkinson.
The Russian Federal Security Service says Welan was arrested in December 2018 while engaging in "espionage activities".
Whelan insists that one of his acquaintances signed him, as he gave him a digital data storage unit (USB) that the convict believed was that it contained pictures of a previous trip they had made to Russia.
Exacerbation of tension
The Whelan case exacerbated tensions between the United States and Russia, which are facing other issues such as the conflict in Ukraine, the war in Syria, and the issue of maintaining strategic parity between the two countries.
On Monday, Washington expressed its "condemnation" of the judgment of Whelan and demanded "his immediate release," while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced what he considered "a secret trial with evidence kept secret, and without appropriate defense rights."
For his part, considered the US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan that the sentence issued by Moscow to imprison the former Marine Corps soldier Paul Whelan 16 years on charges of espionage, would harm relations between Moscow and Washington.