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Jailed US spy Whelan seen as escape-prone inmate, says attorney

According to Whelan' attorney, being considered escape-prone means that the inmate is prohibited from certain activities, for example, from working late shifts

MOSCOW, June 9. /TASS/. US citizen Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia for espionage, is considered prone to escaping from his prison facility, his attorney Olga Karlova told TASS after visiting him in his penal colony in Russia’s Mordovia.

"Whelan has a special red line on his personal card, which means that he is considered to be escape-prone. The penitentiary’s administration disciplined him five times for various violations," the attorney stated.

According to Karlova, being considered escape-prone means that the inmate is prohibited from certain activities, for example, from working late shifts. "He actively works on the first shift, and he works with a sewing machine. He even said that his elbow hurts from vigorous labor," she stated.

US citizen Paul Whelan, who also holds British, Canadian, and Irish passports, was sentenced to 16 years behind bars in Russia for espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code (Espionage). The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) earlier said Whelan had been detained on December 28, 2018, in Moscow while on an alleged spy mission.

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