MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court will consider the appeal against prolonging the arrest of US national Paul Whelan on September 17, Whelan’s attorney Olga Karpova told TASS on Wednesday.

"The Moscow City Court will consider the appeal against prolonging the arrest of Whelan on September 17. My client is currently acquainting himself with the case; so far, he has read the first volume. There is a significant amount of case materials," she said.

In late August, Moscow’s Lefortovsky Court prolonged Whelan’s arrest until October 29.

US citizen Paul Whelan, 48, 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.