Russia prosecutes US citizen for espionage
Interfax news agency on January 3 quoted sources revealing that Russia has prosecuted US citizen - former Marine Paul Whelan for espionage.
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| US citizen and former Marine Paul Whelan. Twitter screenshot |
Under Russian law, espionage offenders can face 10-20 years in prison.
Previously, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on December 31, 2018 that it had arrested Mr. Whelan in Moscow on suspicion of espionage, according to TASS.
However, the family insisted that Mr. Whelan went to Moscow to attend the wedding of a former Marine and was not involved in any espionage activities, according to Reuters.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on January 2 asked Russia to explain and Washington will demand Moscow immediately release its citizens if it determines Mr. Whelan's arrest was inappropriate.
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| FSB anti-terrorist force. Twitter screenshot. |
The arrest comes at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the West over espionage.
The West accused Russia of being behind the poisoning of a former double agent and his daughter in the UK in March 2018. Meanwhile, the US recently convicted Russian citizen Maria Butina for spying for a foreign country.