U.S.-Russia swap is prisoner’s hope

MOSCOW — Paul Whelan, a former Marine convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison last week, will not appeal the ruling, his lawyer told media outlets Tuesday.

Minutes after his sentence was announced last Monday, Whelan told journalists in the courtroom that he would appeal the Moscow court’s decision. His about-face comes after speculation that he may become part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia.

“We met at the detention facility today, discussed the issue, and decided against appealing the sentence, since he does not believe in Russian justice,” Whelan’s lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, told the Interfax news agency Tuesday. “He hopes for being exchanged for the Russians convicted in the United States in the near future.”

The deadline to appeal is 10 days after the sentencing, or Thursday.

Speaking on the courthouse steps last week after the 50-year-old Whelan was convicted, Zherebenkov said that swapping Whelan for one or two Russians serving prison sentences in the United States was already being discussed.

Whelan was told by Russian security service agents he would be part of an exchange shortly after his arrest, Zherebenkov said.

The lawyer added: “I heard talk that, why should we waste time on the appeal if we can just go ahead with the exchange?”

Zherebenkov then identified two Russians the Kremlin might want in a trade: Konstantin Yaroshenko and Viktor Bout.

Yaroshenko, a 51-year-old pilot, is serving a 20-year prison sentence at the Danbury, Conn., federal prison for conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the United States. The 53-year-old Bout, a gunrunner, was on the radar of Western intelligence agencies for years before a 2008 Drug Enforcement Administration operation led to his capture.

Bout’s exploits earned him the nickname “Merchant of Death” for the conflicts he helped fuel. Bout is serving a 25-year sentence at the federal prison in Marion, Ill.