Ex-US Marine Whelan, convicted of espionage in Russia, changes jails as US is 'not interested' in swap

Jonny Tickle
RT
Tue, 04 Aug 2020 14:49 UTC

© Sputnik/Kirill Kallinikov

FILE PHOTO: Paul Whelan in the Lefortovo court in Moscow

Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia on spy charges, will serve his sentence in Russia's Republic of Mordovia, about 500km east of Moscow. It had been rumored he was likely to be swapped with the US for Russians.

The convicted spy, who holds American, British, Canadian, and Irish passports, was found guilty in June by a Moscow court on charges of espionage and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He was arrested in December 2018 after receiving a USB device from an undercover FSB officer, containing sensitive information. Whelan maintains that he was set up, and thought the memory stick contained photos of a tourist trip.

According to Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, the former Marine is being moved on a prison train from Moscow's Lefortovo detention center to prison IK-17 - a seven-hour drive from Moscow. Despite being convicted almost two months ago, he was not immediately transported out of pre-trial detention.

Whelan has encouraged the US Government to swap him for Russian prisoners. In June, his lawyer named two potential options for a prisoner swap - arms dealer Viktor Bout and alleged drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko. Whelan's transportation away from Moscow is likely to be interpreted as a sign that an exchange is still some time away.

On Tuesday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov noted that Moscow had sent Washington a list of citizens it was interested in swapping, but explained that the US had not shown any interest.

Last week, another former US Marine, Trevor Reed, was sent to prison for nine years after being convicted of attacking two police officers, in a judgment the US Embassy called "absurd."

Comment: Having not appealed his verdict, Whelan must now decide if he will ask for clemency:

"We just visited Paul (on Tuesday morning) at the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center (in Moscow), where he made the final decision not to appeal his sentence and wrote a statement," his attorney Olga Karlova told news agency TASS. Karlova added that her client does not trust the Russian justice system and believes another trial is pointless.

US authorities have insisted the ex-Marine is not spy. Whelan has described himself as "more like Mr Bean, than James Bond."

Last week, US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said that the US was not looking for an exchange, but rather "justice" for Whelan.

A notable feature of the saga has been restrained reporting from the US press, which typically would give a case of this nature massive coverage. This has raised eyebrows in Moscow media circles. As for 4pm Moscow time Moscow on Tuesday, neither CNN nor The New York Times carried the story on their website front pages.

See also:

• Brother of American detained in Russia thinks it's 'ridiculous' he could be a spy
• American arrested for spying in Russia was in possession of 'state secrets' according to his lawyer
• International spies swap: US, Russia discuss trading Paul Whelan for Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko
• Paul Whelan's lawyer says his client is upbeat, confident his predicament will end soon
• Russian court finds ex-US marine Paul Whelan guilty of espionage, sentences him to 16 years in prison