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US Embassy staff visit Paul Whelan accused of espionage in Mordovian penal colony

Paul Whelan, who holds US, UK, Canadian and Irish citizenship, was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service on December 28, 2018

MOSCOW, February 28. /TASS/. Consular staff of the US embassy in Russia visited US citizen Paul Whelan, convicted of espionage, in a Mordovian penal colony, the diplomatic mission's Telegram channel reported.

"Today, consular officers of the US embassy in Moscow visited <…> US citizen Paul Whelan at IK-17 in Mordovia," the report said.

On December 28, 2018, Whelan, who holds US, UK, Canadian and Irish citizenship, was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in a room at Moscow’s Metropol Hotel while allegedly carrying out a spy mission. The FSB opened a criminal case against him on charges of espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. On June 15, 2020, the Moscow City Court found Whelan guilty of spying against Russia and sentenced him to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.

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