“Put on his knees and threatened with a gun”: an American accused of espionage in Russia complained of ill-treatment

Former US Marine Paul Whelan, accused of espionage in Russia, said in court that a security guard in a pre-trial detention center had threatened him with a gun. The prosecutor's office and the court, according to Whelan, do not pay attention to his complaints. Writes about it with the BBC.

Фото: Depositphotos

The Lefortovo court of Moscow considered extending the period of arrest for a citizen of the USA, Canada, Ireland, and Great Britain Whelan. At the meeting, he complained about the staff of the detention center.

“The security guard put me on my knees.”

“I have repeatedly contacted the Moscow prosecutor’s office with complaints related to violations of my human rights in the pre-trial detention center, including in connection with an incident when a guard forced me to my knees and another threatened me with a gun,” Whelan said.

They put a gun to his head (apparently, this is due to the fact that the American citizen spoke English).

“The prosecutor’s office systematically ignores my complaints, including the incident when one prison guard forced me to kneel down and another put a gun to my head,” says Whelan.

The American accused the prosecutor and the court of ignoring evidence of a violation of his rights and petitioned for their challenge.

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“There are two petitions. “I ask for the recusal of the Moscow prosecutor and you, your honor,” Whelan said, addressing the judge. — I challenge any representative of the Moscow prosecutor’s office and ask to invite another representative of the prosecutor’s office.

Judge Sergei Ryabtsev rejected both Whelan's motions. And then he extended the arrest until December 29.

The press office of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said that the SIZO employees could not threaten Whelan with a pistol, since the presence of any firearms in security institutions was ruled out - employees in the pre-trial detention center are serving without weapons.

In turn, Whelan’s lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told his version of what happened: “Paul was working out in the exercise yard, running, singing songs. The employee reprimanded him. Well, it turned out to be a conversation between a deaf person and a dumb person: one does not understand Russian, the other does not understand English. We filed a complaint, after which the FSIN employee was disciplined for his incontinence.”

Whelan's case

US citizen Paul Whelan was detained in Moscow on December 28 2018 of the year. Later it turned out that he had three more citizenships - Great Britain, Ireland and Canada. He turned for help to the embassies of all these countries in Russia.

Whelan was charged under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (espionage). The flash drive seized from him allegedly contained information constituting state secrets. According to investigators, Whelan worked for US intelligence agencies.

The former marine and the head of security services at several companies has denied the allegations and said that he had arrived in Moscow for a friend’s wedding. At a court hearing on September 17, Whelan stated that his framed FSB officerwith whom he was familiar for about 10 years.

“I didn't commit a crime. I went to the Kremlin on a tour this morning. Returned to the hotel to change for the wedding. This man came to my room, put something in my pocket, and then I was detained,” Whelan said.

He calls his case an “absurd political kidnapping.” At the meeting on October 24, Whelan compared himself to the hero of the popular British comedy Mr. Bean. “The intelligence services thought they had caught James Bond, but in fact they had caught Mr Bean on holiday,” he said.

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Whelan’s case is being investigated by the FSB investigator Aleksey Khizhnyak, who has previously conducted similar cases, in particular, on high treason initiated against the former head of the Baltic Center for the Dialogue of Cultures in Kaliningrad.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• 28 December in Moscow FSB officers detained US citizen Paul Whelan on suspicion of espionage. At the same time, Russia refused to explain what became the basis for the arrest and making of such charges.
• Detained brother David Whelan claims Paul came to Russia for his friend’s wedding, and insists on the relative's innocence.
• In April 2019, it turned out that Whelan is also a citizen of Great Britain and Canada. He was born in Canada to two British subjects - Edward and Rosemary Whelan. By birth right in the country, he received Canadian citizenship, but the brother of the detainee, David Whelan, does not know whether Paul retained Canadian citizenship. Subsequently, the man moved to the United States, where he also received citizenship.
• In May, Whelan told the judge that wants to complain about his investigator from the security service of the FSB of Russia, arguing that “his actions, insults, harassment and threats to life are unprofessional and should not be allowed. “This is revenge for sanctions, there is absolutely no certainty in the case,” Whelan said in court.
• Early July Whelan complained about health. According to the diplomatic mission, Whelan is provided with basic medical care in jail, but it is not enough. The Russian side rejected the request for admission of an external doctor to the American for consultation.

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