Moscow: Paul Whelan, the US citizen accused of espionage in Russia has been found with ‘evidence that constitutes state secrets’, his lawyer said Tuesday.
Whelan, the global security director for the Michigan-based automotive components supplier BorgWarner, was arrested here December 28, 2018, on suspicion of carrying out an act of espionage, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s domestic intelligence agency.
He was found with evidence constituting state secrets when he was detained, Whelan’s lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told ‘CNN’.
Whelan’s family however, has consistently said that he was in Russia only for a vacation. He arrived in Russia, December 22 to attend a retired fellow Marine’s wedding, his brother David Whelan told ‘CNN’.
On the day of his arrest he had been with the wedding party at the Kremlin, serving as a guide for wedding guests who were visiting Russia for the first time, his brother said.
Later that day, he didn’t arrive at the wedding, and the newly-weds filed a missing person report with the Russian authorities, according to David Whelan.
The FSB announced Whelan’s arrest, December 31. Since his arrest, Whelan has been held without bail in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison.
Zherebenkov told ‘CNN’ that he filed an appeal against the detention in early January, calling it unwarranted and excessive.
Whelan’s hearing will be held in Moscow City Court. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison, Russia’s state-run news agency ‘TASS’ reported Tuesday.
IANS