MOSCOW, September 22. /TASS/. US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan has visited US national Paul Whelan, who is jailed in Russia for espionage, at a correctional facility in Mordovia, the US Embassy in Moscow informed on Twitter.

"Ambassador Sullivan visits U.S. citizen #PaulWhelan, unjustly tried and convicted in a secret Russian trial, now held in a Russian penal colony. #PaulWhelan is innocent, and should be free to return home to his family in the United States now," the embassy wrote on Twitter.

Sullivan expressed concern over Whelan’s health, saying that he was happy to see him. "It was a relief to see him, though we're concerned about his health & safety. I reassured Paul that we will continue to advocate on his behalf until the Russian government lets Paul, an innocent American, go home," the embassy quotes the ambassador as saying. "Paul was not given a fair public hearing, and the court was neither independent nor impartial. He was unjustly tried and convicted by a Russian court," he added.

US national 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 an alleged spy mission. On June 15, 2020, 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.