![]() Whelan's Russian defense attorney, Vladimir Zherebenkov, is convinced his client is innocent. Whelan, a former Marine who was twice deployed to Iraq, is also an apparent supporter of US President Donald Trump. He has developed social media contacts with everyday Russians - including hairdressers and former military personnel - on sites including Vkontakte, the Russian version of Facebook. In The New York Times, Paul Whelan has been portrayed as a man who likes to travel around Russia by train and collect Soviet-era tea glass holders. He said that although Paul doesn't speak much of the language, he travels to Russia quite often because he is interested in the country's people, as well as its Orthodox religion. ![]() His brother, David, told US media outlets that Paul had traveled to Moscow to attend a friend's wedding. Whelan's family has stressed his innocence. Read more: Outrage in Britain as Russian ex-spy fights for his life Maria Butina was jailed in the US over allegations she acted as an illegal foreign agent for Russia Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Russia has vehemently denied any involvement. Relations between Russia and the UK have been at an all-time low since Britain accused Russian military intelligence agents of being behind the nerve-agent poisoning of a Russian former double agent and his daughter in the British city of Salisbury in March. "We are extremely worried about him and his family." "We are giving him every support we that we can, but we don't agree with individuals being used in diplomatic chess games," British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Sky News. On Friday, the UK said it was also trying to gain access to Whelan for a consular visit. In addition to being a US citizen, Whelan also holds an Irish as well as a British passport. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that "if detention is not appropriate, we will demand his immediate return." visited Whelan in Moscow's Lefortovo Prison on Wednesday and offered support and assistance, though he refused to discuss the case in detail. ![]() Russian security expert Pavel Felgenhauer is perplexed by the incident, and believes the arrest is "suspicious." Whelan, Felgenhauer told DW, doesn't seem like a typical American spy he pointed out that the 48-year-old global security director for a US auto parts company has never even held diplomatic immunity.Īs a rule, US spies generally possess that diplomatic status if they're arrested in a country that has poor relations with the US, the worst that can happen is that they're forced to leave. Read more: Why are Russia and the West allowed to spy on each other? Whelan's family said he had traveled to Moscow to attend a friend's wedding Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Whelan Family Russian intelligence services have publicly stated that in the event of a guilty verdict, Whelan faces between 10 and 20 years in prison. Whelan is currently in detention, awaiting trial on charges of espionage. Russian news agency Rosbalt, citing Moscow security circles, has claimed Whelan received a classified list of names from a Russian citizen, though those claims have yet to be independently verified. The former US Marine, arrested in Moscow last Friday, is said to have received a USB stick with sensitive information on it from Russian agents who met him at the Metropol Hotel - just down the street from both the Kremlin and the FSB headquarters. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have caught Paul Whelan red-handed.
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