MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court found former U.S. marine Paul Whelan guilty of spying for the United States on Monday and sentenced him to 16 years in prison, a move the U.S. ambassador to Moscow called an egregious violation of human rights that would damage ties.
Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was apprehended and implicated of espionage, stands inside an accuseds’ cage during his decision hearing in Moscow, Russia June 15,2020 REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Whelan, who holds U.S., British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained by representatives from Russia’s Federal Security Service in a Moscow hotel space on Dec. 28,2018
Russia says Whelan, 50, was caught red-handed with a computer system flash drive containing categorized details. Whelan, who pleaded not guil