Espionage accusations prompt Washington, Moscow reprovals

The detention came after Russian citizen Maria Butina pleaded guilty in a Washington court on Dec 13 to one conspiracy charge, admitting that she acted as an unregistered foreign agent to advance Moscow’s interests.

Moscow and Washington have exchanged a flurry of rebukes over a United States citizen suspected of engaging in espionage in Russia.

Russia has allowed consular access to American Paul Whelan, who was detained in Moscow on suspicion of carrying out espionage, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

Whelan was detained on Dec 28 during a “spy act in Moscow”, the Russian Federal Security Service said on Monday.

A criminal investigation was opened against him and he was charged with espionage. If he is found guilty, he could be sentenced to from 10 to 20 years in prison.

Whelan is the head of global security for a Michigan-based auto parts supplier, according to the Associated Press. The 48-year-old was in Moscow to attend a wedding when he disappeared, his brother, David Whelan, said on Tuesday.

The US State Department said it was notified of Whelan’s detention, requested consular access and expected the “Russian authority to provide it”.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that the government had already provided consular access to Whelan.

Whelan was visited by the US ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman, who expressed his support and offered the embassy’s assistance, the US State Department said in a statement on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday that “if the detention is not appropriate, we will demand his immediate return”.

Pompeo said the US has “made clear to the Russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges and come to understand what it is he’s been accused of”.

Whelan’s family posted a statement on Twitter that said: “We are deeply concerned for his safety and well-being. His innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected.”

David Whelan said in an interview that his brother had been to Russia several times previously, so when a fellow former Marine was planning a wedding in Moscow, he was asked to go along to help out.

He said that it was while searching the internet on Monday that he learned of his brother’s arrest.

The detention came after Russian citizen Maria Butina pleaded guilty in a Washington court on Dec 13 to one conspiracy charge, admitting that she acted as an unregistered foreign agent to advance Moscow’s interests, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Butina, 29, was arrested on July 15 and charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian government. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the accusations were false.

The arrest was announced on July 16, only hours after US President Donald Trump finished a summit meeting and a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland.

Putin said Butina had no ties to Russian intelligence services and the case against her was unfounded, according to Russia’s TASS News Agency.

Paul Whelan, American charged with spying by Russia