American held in Russia for spying is innocent, says family

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A retired U.S. Marine detained by Russia on spying charges was visiting Moscow for a wedding and is innocent, his family said on Tuesday.

Paul Whelan had been staying with a wedding party for a fellow former Marine at the Metropol hotel in Moscow, said his brother David Whelan, who learned of the arrest on Monday.

"His innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected," Whelan's family said in a statement released on Twitter on Tuesday.

David Whelan, who says he's the brother of detained former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, posts a statement from his family on Twitter. /Screenshot from Twitter

Russia's FSB state security service said the American had been detained on Friday "while carrying out an act of espionage," but it gave no details of the nature of his alleged espionage activities.

Under Russian law, espionage can carry a prison sentence of between 10 and 20 years.

A U.S. State Department representative said Russia had notified it that a U.S. citizen had been detained and it expected Moscow to provide consular access to see him.

The representative did not provide details of the identity of the American or the reasons behind his detention.

The arrest marked the latest in a series of spy scandals between Russia and the West.

In December, Russian student Maria Butina pleaded guilty in a federal court in Washington to act as an illegal foreign agent. She faces up to six months in prison, followed by likely deportation.

(Top image: Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen detained in Russia for suspected spying, appears in a photo provided by the Whelan family, January 1, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters