A Moscow court found former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison on Monday, in what the U.S. Ambassador to Russia described as a “mockery of justice.”
Russian police arrested Whelan – who also holds British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship – at Moscow’s Metropol Hotel in December 2018. Prosecutors claimed law enforcement found him in possession of a USB drive that contained classified information.
At the time of his arrest, Whelan was employed as the director of global security for Michigan-based auto parts supplier BorgWarner. He had previously spent 14 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before his discharge in 2008 for allegedly inappropriate conduct.
Prosecutors were seeking 18 years for Whelan, who maintains his innocence and insists a Russian Federal Security Service major indebted to him for around 100,000 rubles ($1,400) framed him. Both the trial and sentencing took place behind closed doors.
“This secret trial in which no evidence was produced is an egregious violation of human rights and international legal norms,” U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said after the sentencing, according to an embassy spokesperson. “The United States demands that U.S. citizen Paul Whelan be released immediately. His conviction is a mockery of justice. The world is watching.”
Speaking outside the court, Sullivan said he would next “consult with my government in Washington, which, as I said, at the highest levels is extremely concerned.”
Ambassador Sullivan: Today, #PaulWhelan was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia. This secret trial in which no evidence was produced is an egregious violation of human rights and international legal norms. @mfa_russia pic.twitter.com/cPCh3Sflfn
— Rebecca Ross (@USEmbRuPress) June 15, 2020
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserted Washington was “outraged” by the decision and attacked Russian authorities for his treatment in custody.
He said in a statement:
The United States is outraged by the decision of a Russian court today to convict U.S. citizen Paul Whelan after a secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses. We have serious concerns that Mr. Whelan was deprived of the fair trial guarantees that Russia is required to provide him in accordance with its international human rights obligations.
The treatment of Paul Whelan at the hands of Russian authorities has been appalling. Russia failed to provide Mr. Whelan with a fair hearing before an independent and impartial tribunal; and during his detention has put his life at risk by ignoring his long-standing medical condition; and unconscionably kept him isolated from family and friends.
Outraged by the decision today to convict Paul Whelan on the basis of a secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses. Paul’s treatment by Russian authorities continues to be appalling, and we demand his immediate release.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) June 15, 2020
Whelan’s family also released a statement denouncing the sentence as a form of politically-motivated injustice.
“It was the Russian legal system that was found guilty of injustice,” they said. “The court’s decision merely completes the final piece of this broken judicial process. “We had hoped that the court might show some independence but, in the end, Russian judges are political, not legal, entities.”
According to Whelan’s version of events, he was visiting Moscow for a wedding and an acquaintance handed him the USB drive, claiming it contained holiday photos. Following his sentencing on Monday, Whelan confirmed that he will appeal the decision, telling journalists: “It is a political trial, a political sentence.”
Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com
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