Paul Whelan: US Ex-Marine Seen In Russian Labour Camp Video

For the first time in three years, Paul Whelan, an American convicted of espionage in Russia who has always seen himself as a political hostage, has been seen in video footage.

Arrested in 2018 in Moscow for a friend’s wedding, the former US marine was sentenced to 16 years in prison after a closed trial.

Mr. Whelan has been labeled as “wrongfully detained” by the US authorities.

The video was shot at a labor camp by the Kremlin-backed RT program.

Mr Whelan, on the other hand, declined to give an interview.

It’s the first time his family in the United States and Canada has seen him since the BBC taped his final appearance in a Moscow court in June 2020.

“It was good to see him again, and I could see the fight in his eyes.” “It’s good to know Paul remains unbowed,” Paul’s twin, David Whelan, wrote in an email.

Paul Whelan, an American convicted of espionage in Russia who has always seen himself as a political hostage, has been seen in video footage.

Mr Whelan is seen in the film lining up with other offenders in the jail yard, sewing industrial garments in the prison factory and then entering the canteen with a tray of grey-looking food.

He had earlier informed his parents that he was being “badged” into participating in “Kremlin propaganda.” Although he appears relaxed and even smiles in the footage, he clearly instructs the camera team that he will not answer any questions.

The video was shot in May, but it was only recently published.

He claimed that prison authorities punished him for refusing to be interrogated by dumping his stuff on the floor and treading on them.

The RT team arrived at the remote IK-17 camp in Mordovia not long after US journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested at the end of March, which prompted a mass evacuation of foreign journalists from Russia.

Russia accused the Wall Street Journal correspondent of espionage without providing any evidence. He, too, was swiftly branded as “wrongfully detained” by the US administration.

Senior officials have consistently demanded that these men be released.

Paul Whelan, an American convicted of espionage in Russia who has always seen himself as a political hostage, has been seen in video footage.

Paul Whelan expected to be swapped for a high-profile Russian inmate in the US from the time he was arrested.

In phone calls from prison in 2020 and 2021, he revealed why he never challenged the guilty judgment. He was constantly happy and confident that he would be released soon.

However, since then, former US Marine Trevor Reed and US basketball player Brittney Griner have been detained, convicted, and then released in prisoner swaps in Russia.

Viktor Bout, a renowned Russian arms trader, was among those released by the US.

The RT film emphasizes that Paul Whelan has been “thrown under the bus” by his government. The report’s release three months later is Kremlin pressure on the US government to make whatever concessions Russia seeks.

Paul Whelan, now in his sixth year in prison, has expressed feelings of abandonment.

When Evan Gershkovich was jailed on the same spying accusation, the Whelan family was “rattled like never before,” fearing Paul might be forgotten again.

According to recent conjecture, the Kremlin requests the return of undercover agents known as “illegals” detained in the United States and Europe and Russians convicted of cybercrime.

The US and the Kremlin only confirm that they are in contact.

In July, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stated that his country was willing to “do anything” to bring the two men home but that there was no “clear pathway to a resolution” yet.

SOURCE – (BBC)