Ottawa and Washington are slamming a “severe” sentence handed to a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, who was convicted of espionage by a Russian court following a trial where most of the evidence was kept secret.
Paul Whelan, who was born in Canada to British parents and is also a citizen of Britain and Ireland, was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison by the Moscow City Court on Monday.
He denies spying for the U.S. and says he was set up by Russian security agencies in a sting operation.
Angela Savard, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said Canadian officials “are deeply concerned” by Whelan’s conviction and by “the severe sentence imposed on him.”
“The severity of the sentence clearly demonstrates that Russia is using its judicial system as a political tool,” Savard said. “Canada calls upon Russia to ensure a fair and transparent appeal process free of political interference.”
Canadian officials will continue to provide consular assistance to Whelan and his family, she added.
The 50-year-old corporate security executive and Marine Corps veteran from Novi, Michigan, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 while he was in Russia to attend a friend’s wedding.
Whelan’s lawyer has said his client was handed a flash drive that had classified information on it that he didn’t know about.
‘A secret trial, with secret evidence’
An image of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine who was arrested for alleged spying in Moscow, is displayed behind Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as he speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, June 10, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/AP Photo, Pool)
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said the U.S. “is outraged” by the court decision “after a secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses.”
“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,” Pompeo said, calling Whelan’s treatment “appalling.”
“We demand Paul Whelan’s immediate release.”
Spy exchange?
FILE – In this Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 file photo, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov arrives to attend the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Rosa Khutor, in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP Photo, Pool, File)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected allegations that Whelan has become a political hostage, saying during a conference call with reporters that his guilt was proven during the trial. Peskov refused to comment on whether Russia could be eyeing Whelan’s exchange for some of its citizens in the U.S. custody.
Whelan’s Russian lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, pointed at Russian official statements signaling a possibility that Whelan could be exchanged for Russians Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko.
“There have been proposals of exchange, the issue is being discussed,” he said.
Bout, a Russian arms trader, is serving a 25-year sentence in the United States for a 2011 conviction on charges he conspired to sell millions of dollars of weapons to Colombian rebels. He insisted he was a legitimate businessman.
Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot, is serving a 20-year sentence for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. after he was arrested in Liberia in 2010 and extradited to the United States.
Russian officials have cast the convictions of Bout and Yaroshenko as politically-driven and pushed for their release.
With files from the Associated Press
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