Russia set to try American spy suspect
Prosecution of ex-Marine starts Monday despite Moscow’s lockdown
MOSCOW — The letters from detained American Paul Whelan cannot convey anything about his case or the espionage charges he faces in Russia, so they tend to be repetitive — detail after detail about his days in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison for the past 15 months.
The next week may decide if anything will change for the 50-year-old former Marine, who denies the spying accusations.
Whelan’s trial is scheduled to begin Monday in Moscow City Court. His Russian lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said he expected the date to be further postponed because of lockdowns amid the coronavirus pandemic. All of Moscow is under a stay-at-home order until at least the end of the month.
But the court said Thursday that the trial will go on as scheduled and Whelan will attend the closed hearings. Proceeding with the trial even as Russia’s confirmed coronavirus cases topped 10,000 this week could be a strategic decision. The city’s restrictions are expected to even further reduce media coverage.
Espionage is a crime that carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years in Russia. Zherebenkov has said Whelan was unwittingly handed a flash drive containing “state secrets” while on a personal trip to Russia in late 2018. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Whelan was caught “red-handed.”
Whelan has been the subject of speculation about a possible prisoner exchange involving one of three Russians imprisoned in the United States — Maria Butina, a gun rights activist who pleaded guilty to conspiring to infiltrate the conservative movement as an agent for the Kremlin; Viktor Bout, a gunrunner who inspired the 2005 Hollywood film Lord of War; and Konstantin Yaroshenko, a pilot arrested in 2010 on charges of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the country.
With Butina since released and deported to Russia, a top Russian official appeared to hint that Moscow wanted Yaroshenko for Whelan. In July, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov suggested that the United States should “free [Konstantin] Yaroshenko; swap him for an American or Americans who are serving their sentence here,” according to the Interfax news agency.
Rybakov stopped short of saying Russia would be willing to release Whelan and told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that it would not be right to include Whelan in a swap since he hasn’t been tried.
Julie Fisher, then a senior U.S. Embassy official in Moscow, visited Whelan in November and told reporters, “There is no need to discuss a swap” because “there is no evidence, no crime.”
“[The Russians] made it clear that they’re really not willing to do a trade until Paul has been convicted,” said David Whelan, Paul’s twin brother. “And we know he will be convicted because that’s the way the system works, so we’re really just waiting for that milestone to occur.”
Yaroshenko’s attorney, Anna Brown, said she’s applied for him to be released to Russia because coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the Danbury, Conn., federal prison where Yaroshenko is serving his 20-year sentence.
Meanwhile, the Whelan family worries about Paul’s diet and health. They purchase fruit and vegetables for him through the prison’s online store, but wonder if he ever actually receives them.
David Whelan said his brother has an inguinal hernia. Paul Whelan has been seen by doctors at the prison, but he hasn’t been able to communicate his questions or concerns because he doesn’t speak Russian, David said.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been critical of Russia’s treatment of Whelan — who has multiple citizenships — calling it “shameful.” He hasn’t been allowed to call his family, and the embassy said its recent request to deliver personal protective equipment to Whelan was denied. Zherebenkov, Whelan’s lawyer, said the prison has supplied it and Whelan’s temperature is checked routinely.