“The commission members met with Paul Whelan after the verdict, he did not look depressed. He said that he underwent a small surgical operation a month ago, said that it makes him uncomfortable with walking, but generally feels good, ”the interlocutor of RT said, noting that he was joking in a conversation with members of the commission, in particular, he complained the absence of ice cream in his diet.
According to the PMC, Whelan said that “for three months I did not receive letters from relatives, although in May he was allowed to talk twice with his parents over the phone.”
Whelan did not give a definite answer to questions from members of the commission whether he intended to write a petition for clemency and how he relates to the prospect of exchanging for Russians in American prisons.
“This is all the political game of Russia, the USA and Canada,” the member of the PMC quotes the convict.
On June 15, the Moscow City Court sentenced Whelan to 16 years in a maximum security colony for espionage.
Commenting on the sentence to Whelan, his lawyer, Vladimir Zherebyonkov, did not rule out the possibility of exchanging his client for Russians Viktor Bout or Konstantin Yaroshenko, who are serving time in American prisons.