US Demands Return of American Suspected of Espionage in Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on December 31 detained Paul Whelan, accusing him of espionage and launching a criminal case against him.
US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said the US demands the immediate return of the detained Paul Whelan and seeks an explanation of why he was arrested, Sputnik reported.
He added that Washington hopes to gain consular access to the detained US citizen over the next few hours.
Reporting about Whelan's arrest, the Russian Security Service (FSB) announced that a criminal case under the article "espionage" had been initiated against him.
The article, according to which the criminal case was initiated, allows for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 10 to 20 years.
Commenting on the issue, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the US Embassy had been notified of the detention of its citizen in accordance with consular convention. This was also confirmed by a representative of the US State Department, who said that the Russian Foreign Ministry has officially notified the US of the detention of an American citizen in Moscow.
Paul's twin brother David Whelan claimed that he was not guilty and said he travelled to Moscow to attend a wedding ceremony, CNN reported earlier.
According to David, Paul was a retired marine who served several tours in Iraq.
However, the Washington Post reported that in 2008 Paul Whelan was dismissed from the US Marine Corps for misbehavior, after being convicted of several counts of larceny.
