The United States citizen who was detained in Russia charged over spying is a retired marine, who went to Moscow to attend a wedding, detained Paul Whelan’s family said.
Russian FSB state security services has said on Monday, it had detained an American citizen charged with spying in Moscow and in fact filed a criminal case against that detained person.
According to news reports, in a statement, Whelan family said the last contact they had with Whelan was on 28 December, a night before the wedding. Family said Whelan had flown to Moscow on 22 December.
In a tweet, Whelan’s brother David Whelan wrote that Whelan is “innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected”. David said Paul Whelan was a former marine and his family is “deeply concerned for his safety and well-being”.
Russian spying charges could carry up to a life imprisonment of about 20 years.
The family said they found out that Whelan was arrest through media reports, and have been since then remained in contact with the US embassy, the state department and representatives of congress.
In an official statement to Russian foreign ministry, the US state department wrote: “Russia’s obligations under the Vienna Convention require them to provide consular access. We have requested this access and expect Russian authorities to provide it. Due to privacy considerations, we have no additional information to provide at this time.”
Whelan’s bother David Whelan tweeted: “My brother was detained by the Russian government on Friday as an alleged spy. While the law library + info focus will remain, you may see an increase in off-message topics until we get him safely home.”
My brother was detained by the Russian government on Friday as an alleged spy. While the law library + info focus will remain, you may see an increase in off-message topics until we get him safely home. pic.twitter.com/2HIF1UmS1b
— David Whelan (@davidpwhelan) January 1, 2019