Moscow – The US Embassy in Moscow said Tuesday it had no information on the whereabouts of an American convicted in June of espionage, despite reports that he is being transferred to a prison colony in central Russia.
Paul Whelan’s brother David said Tuesday on Twitter that he “appears to now be in Mordovia, on his way to prison camp IK-17.” The republic of Mordovia, about 350 kilometers (210 miles) east of Moscow, is home to several prison camps.
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who was arrested in Moscow at the end of last year, was detained at the end of December for alleged spying.
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who was arrested in Moscow at the end of last year, was detained at the end of December for alleged spying. (Photo: Pavel Golovkin, AP)
The Interfax news agency cited David Whelan as saying he received the information from the British Embassy. Paul Whelan holds US, British, Irish and Canadian citizenship.
US Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Ross said on Twitter: “We have not received official notification from Russian authorities of any such move, despite our repeated recent attempts to gain consular access to Paul.”
Whelan, a former corporate security executive from Michigan, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018; he was convicted in June and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan’s lawyer has said his client was handed a flash drive that had classified information on it that he didn’t know about.
The "Guantanamo List" (Russian: список Гуантанамо) is the list of US politicians and citizens barred from the entrance into Russia for being responsible for human rights abuses, primarily in Guantanamo Bay detention camp, a "symmetric response" to the Magnitsky List.[1]HistoryInitially the list contained 11 US officials responsible to running the Guantanamo prison was compiled in December 2012.[2] The Russian law to match the Magnitsky Act was signed by Vladimir Putin on January 28, 2012.[2] In January 2013 a Russian Parliamentarian Aleksey Pushkov announced that the list was expanded to 60 persons, to include people related to the prosecution of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, described as politically motivated, and of a Russian drug dealer Konstantin Yaroshenko, allegedly kidnapped by the USA in Liberia.[1]In April 2013, the finalized list was published to include 18 US officials, four of which were related to Guantanamo and 12 were declared responsible to human rights violations with regard to Russian citizens abroad.[3]In July 2014, the Guantanamo list was expanded with 10 people responsible for Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse and 2 more related to Guantanamo, a symmetric response to the American List of individuals sanctioned during the Ukrainian crisis.[4]List of banned people[edit]The people banned from Russia are listed below: US officials involved in legalizing torture and indefinite detention of prisoners:
Jeffrey Harbeson, US Navy officer, commandant of JTF-GTMO (2010–2012)
The Russian lawmakers also banned several U.S. officials involved in the prosecution and trial of Russian arms smuggler Viktor Bout and drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko, both serving prison time in the United States:
Jed Rakoff, Senior US District Judge for the Southern District of New York
Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Michael J. Garcia, former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York
Brendan R. McGuire, Assistant US Attorney
Anjan S. Sahni, Assistant US Attorney
Christian R. Everdell, Assistant US Attorney
Jenna Minicucci Dabbs, Assistant US Attorney
Christopher L. Lavigne, Assistant US Attorney
Michael Max Rosensaft, Assistant US Attorney
Louis J. Milione, Special Agent, US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Sam Gaye, Senior Special Agent, US DEA
Robert F. Zachariasiewicz, Special Agent, US DEA
Derek S. Odney, Special Agent, US DEA
Gregory A. Coleman, Special Agent, US Federal Bureau of Investigation
A Michigan security executive convicted of spying on the Russian government could appeal his 16-year sentence in a maximum-security prison colony within the next couple of weeks, according to one of his Russian lawyers.
Olga Karlova and Vladimir Zherebenkov plan to review next with Whelan the details of the appeal, which must be filed within about 10 days of sentencing.
It is unlikely that Whelan, 50, of Novi will serve his sentence at a maximum-security labor camp because "he is too important," Karlova said.
Whelan's family has expressed worry over the sentence but noted the verdict also might trigger further involvement from diplomats seeking some kind of deal to secure Whelan's release.
"The Russian government has been clear, through statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that it expected to extract concessions but that Paul's inclusion in those discussion would only happen after a conviction," Paul's brother, David Whelan, said in a statement Monday. "That time is here."
Karlova on Monday said she and Zherebenkov have heard rumors of an exchange with the United States for Victor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko. Bout is a Russian arms trader convicted in 2011 of conspiring to sell weapons to Colombian rebels, while Yaroshenk is a Russian pilot arrested for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the U.S., according to the Associated Press.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement Monday that the United States is outraged with the Monday ruling, which occurred after a "secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses."
Pompeo demanded Whelan's release.
"We have serious concerns that Mr. Whelan was deprived of the fair trial guarantees that Russia is required to provide him in accordance with its international human rights obligations," he said.
Whelan, a former U.S. Marine and director of global security for Auburn Hills auto parts supplier BorgWarner, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 and charged with espionage, which carries an up to 20-year prison sentence. Russia’s Federal Security Service arrested him at his hotel after agents allegedly found a USB drive with classified information in his room.
His family has said he was visiting the city for a friend's wedding.
Whelan has told reporters in Moscow that a Russian friend in law enforcement planted the storage drive without his knowledge. He has denied being a spy.
U.S. officials have decried Russia's handling of Whelan's case, noting there has been no credible evidence produced in court to show Whelans' guilt and prison officials at times have delayed Whelan's medical treatments.
“During his detention, Mr. Whelan has endured unimaginable hardships," Michigan's Congressional delegation said Monday. "He was denied necessary medical care until his condition required a life-saving emergency surgery. He was barred from speaking to his family for over a year. He has been threatened by prison guards.
“Despite months of harsh and cruel treatment, we remain steadfast in our commitment to working with the Whelan family to end this nightmare. Mr. Whelan should not continue to be held as a political prisoner, and he should be allowed to return home to his family in Michigan immediately.”
David Whelan also criticized the sentence Monday and called on President Donald Trump "to bring Paul home."
"The court's decision merely completes the final piece of this broken judicial process," David Whelan said. "We had hoped that the court might show some independence, but, in the end, Russian judges are political, not legal, entities."
