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US’ Whelan released from disciplinary cell, says lawyer referring to Paul’s brother

American national was convicted in Russia on espionage charges

Paul Whelan Sergei Savostyanov/TASS

Paul Whelan

© Sergei Savostyanov/TASS

MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. American national Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia on espionage charges, has been released from a disciplinary cell he was place in for violating regulations, his lawyer Olga Karlova told TASS on Sunday.

"Whelan’s brother, David, told me that Paul had been released from a disciplinary cell. He called the parents on Saturday. Since the US embassy’s employees are on a leave, they cannot visit him. So far, Paul has not been given a possibility to speak with me," she said.

Whelan’s brother said earlier that Paul had been placed in an isolation ward for a minor violation. According to Karlova, Whelan has been in the disciplinary ward for the fifth week, with no possibility to contact him. His lawyers asked the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service to explain why he had been placed in the isolation ward.

On December 28, 2018, Whelan, who has the citizenship of the US, the UK, Canada and Ireland, was detained by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in a room of the Metropol Hotel in Moscow while on an alleged spy mission. The FSB opened a criminal case against him on charges of espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. The Moscow City Court found Whelan guilty of spying against Russia and sentenced him to 16 years in a high security colony.

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