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US spy’s sentence enters into force, no obstacles to swap deal, says lawyer

According to the lawyer, his client did not write a petition for pardon

MOSCOW, July 2. /TASS/. The defense team chose not to appeal the sentence of US national Paul Whelan convicted of espionage in Russia and it came into effect, his lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told TASS on Thursday.

"We did not appeal it and the appeal deadlines have passed. The sentence entered into force. We decided to act so in order not to waste time. Those two or three months that the complaint’s consideration would take could be now spent on talks and arranging Whelan’s exchange for Russians convicted in the United States," the lawyer said, noting that "there are no legal obstacles for this after the sentence came into effect."

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According to the lawyer, his client did not write a petition for pardon. "There is no need in this. The Russian president could pardon him without a petition," Zherebenkov noted.

Earlier lawyers suggested exchanging Whelan for Russian nationals Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko serving their prison terms in the United States. Their lawyer Alexei Tarasov said the handover of his clients to Russia was a political issue.

On June 15, the Moscow City Court found Whelan guilty of spying against Russia and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. Whelan pleaded not guilty dismissing the criminal case as a provocation by Russian special services.

Former US marine Paul Whelan, who also holds British, Canadian and Irish citizenship, was detained by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on December 28, 2018 in Moscow while on a spy mission.

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