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US national Whelan complains about isolation during court sessions — brother

Paul Whelan's brother David said that "the court denied Paul real-time translation nor was he provided with the judge's decision"

NEW YORK, November 21. /TASS/. US national Paul Whelan, detained in Russia on charges of espionage, has complained about attempts to isolate him during court sessions by not providing him with translation services, his brother David Whelan wrote in a message to the media.

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"The court denied Paul real-time translation nor was he provided with the judge's decision. The judicial system has attempted to mute Paul while he was present — by denying translation and excluding him from the process — and now they are using technology to isolate him from the justice system. Paul cannot meet with lawyers without FSB oversight and now he can't interact with them during court hearings," the letter in possession of TASS informs.

"As we learned after the Canadian embassy visit last Thursday [11/14/2019], no action has been taken by prison authorities to provide medical care to Paul," David Whelan continued. "The FSB continues to block an independent medical assessment, despite Paul's petitions for it and diplomatic notes from the embassies supporting him."

"Unfortunately, there does not seem to be anyone within the FSB or prison who is listening to either Paul's or consular complaints," he lamented.

US citizen Paul Whelan, who also holds British, Canadian and Irish passports, is a global security chief at BorgWarner, a Michigan-based automotive components company. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) informed that Whelan had been detained on December 28, 2018 in Moscow while on an alleged spy mission. A criminal investigation was opened against him on espionage charges carrying a punishment of up to 20 years behind bars.

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