Paul Whelan received a punitive discharge from the Marines. "I remember making small talk once and I said, 'You travel a lot for work, where do you travel for fun? Cellmates get to shower once a week, together, in the basement. CNN reports he was accused of using someone else's social security number, and "writing bad cheques". "[31] On January 4, 2019, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "We don't agree with individuals being used in diplomatic chess games We are all extremely worried about him and his family. Paul Whelan's early life and the possibility of congressional intervention, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. State TV crews, hovering for their shots in the hallway, were already referring to the accused man as "the American spy". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The detained former Marine had an interest in Russia, though. Paul Whelan's Marine discharge was larceny related - Detroit The American, whose glasses, side parting and blue sweater that he wore to each court appearance gave him the look of a neat, middle-aged librarian, looked back at the judge blankly. In addition to larceny, specifically the attempted theft of $10,410.59 of US government money, he also reportedly bounced checks to the tune of $6,000. It is an extraordinarily long time. Some do have clear military connections - including photographs in uniform - though not all, and no-one who replied to my messages had seen any reason to doubt Whelan's motives. Paul Whelan was born in a British family in Canada and then shifted to the US during his childhood. The lawyer warns that the FSB is the "mightiest secret service, not only in Russia," and uses its own experts to examine any evidence for the court. Paul Whelan was detained by the Federal Security Service of Russia on 28th December 2018 at the Metropol Hotel room in Moscow. Whelan has been in Russian custody for nearly four years, convicted on charges of espionage and spying for the U.S. government and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Mr Whelan was "responsible for overseeing security" at facilities in Michigan and around the world, a company statement said. Whelan, who at the time of his arrest was the head of global security for a US-based car parts firm, began to denounce the charge of espionage as "ridiculous", and declare that he was being tried by a "kangaroo court". "That early warning meant that our family has ben able to mentally prepare for what is now a public disappointment for us," the statement added. [2][3] He was arrested in Russia on December 28, 2018, and accused of spying. Yes. Whelan and his family say letters have been held back for months by investigators and parcels returned. There was a lot of speculation about this and there was hope [that] Paul and his family had hoped he would finally return home to his very elderly parents, his lawyer Olga Karlova told The Post. [27], Former CIA officers have stated that the CIA would not recruit an officer with Whelan's military record, nor leave an officer exposed without a diplomatic passport. The first time I saw Whelan in court, well over a year ago, he arrived with a weak smile and a brown cardboard box hugged to his chest containing a packed prison lunch. He left the company in 2016 and started working for BorgWarner, an Auburn Hills-based auto supplier, in 2017, according to company spokeswoman Kathy Graham. Russian authorities alleged he possessed a computer flash drive containing classified information. The American refused and as his time in custody was extended repeatedly, he gradually grew bolder in court. So no evidence - the wire taps or surveillance footage the case is reportedly based on - has been made public. [19], Per MBK News, an outlet run by Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Whelan had $80,000 in cash "temporarily confiscated" during a customs inspection at Domodedovo Airport. "That's the only reason they've done this," he alleged. Is he an ex-marine officer? The news that Paul Whelan holds citizenship in four countries brings international pressure on Russia from several fronts. Britains foreign secretary says Russia is trying to use a man detained as an alleged spy as a pawn in its geopolitical games. "I don't believe that Paul is a spy," the man wrote to me. Paul Whelan, the global security director for a U.S. company, was arrested a week ago in Moscow. [45], Whelan's brother David Whelan approved of the decision to "make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen. he wrote. "I'm trying to focus on immediate goals, so I don't get distracted by how awful it is that he could spend 16 years behind bars," David Whelan told me, imagining how his twin would have felt, convicted of spying and heading back to his prison cell. [37] [38] His lawyers said they believed Russia would Whelan, a former U.S. Marine arrested in Russia on espionage charges, was visiting Moscow over the holidays to attend a wedding when he suddenly disappeared, his brother said Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. Whe He Dead? It is in this context that the nature of Whelan's discharge from the Marines received renewed attention. Though he has been described as being held in "solitary confinement", "But even with food, we were told that we might want to give him extra money. His job included campus security as well as electronic and IT-related security. Reuters, 8 Dec. 2022. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/paul-whelan-ex-us-marine-jailed-russia-spying-charges-2022-12-08/. Kristen Jordan Shamus - Detroit Free Press. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? Whelan worked as an administrative clerk and administrative chief and was deployed in [37][38] His lawyers said they believed Russia would now seek a prisoner swap. Almost 18 months later, Whelan has been convicted of spying - receiving Russian state secrets - after a short trial conducted entirely behind closed doors. Ukraine live briefing: Kyiv targeted by missiles; explosions in Russia derail train, damage power line, Philippine presidents White House visit reflects sharp upturn in ties, Eyeing China, Biden official floats a new Washington consensus, American Trevor Reed, a former Marine who was detained in 2019, was exchanged. The Interfax news agency says he has denied the allegation. Whelan's arrest comes just two weeks after alleged Russian spy Maria Butina pleaded guilty in the US to conspiracy charges. Paul Whelan's travels in Russia began more than a decade ago. [14], On December 28, 2018, Whelan was arrested in the Moscow area by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), which later confirmed his arrest. Russia argues that Butina is a political prisoner. He'd prepare a speech for each session, writing it out on a sheet of paper vetted and stamped by the prison censors. The man Whelan accuses of framing him was one of his oldest friends in Russia. Curious To Check Full Wiki! "[4][f], Whelan was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and raised partly in the Ann Arbor area of Michigan where he and his twin brother David graduated from Huron High School in 1988. (Cpl. 6 Top-Notch Dental Courses Online for Beginners in 2023, What is a Token Burn? Quite dilapidated. The former Marine said he was living in quite crowded spaces and estimated that his building housed 50 to 60 people. Whelan, arrested Dec. 28, 2018, in a Moscow hotel, has said he thought the flash drive that he received from an acquaintance contained holiday photos. Hunt says Friday that we are giving him every support that we can, but we dont agree with individuals being used in diplomatic chess games., Hunt adds that we are extremely worried about him and his family.. '''Dmitry' says hello! According to court documents, he was in charge of the company's campus security group, and his duties included managing and conducting investigations, as well as handling some purchasing. Evidence shows that he was caught with a flash drive that contained highly classified information. At the time, one ambassador told me the move had hit Moscow's spying capacity hard. In terms of severity of punishment, this form of discharge is second to and distinct from a dishonorable discharge. He worked as an administrative clerk and chief before being discharged in 2008 for bad conduct. Russian authorities have released no information about the charges against Whelan, who could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of spying. At Kelly Services, his title was senior manager of global security and investigations. In early 2019, the drama of his now multi-national arrest was developing against a hostile political backdrop, with mutual sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and East-West tension not felt since Soviet times. [21], According to the Russian news agency Rosbalt[ru], Whelan was apprehended in his hotel room at the Metropol Hotel while concluding a long outing with a Russian citizen, who handed him a USB drive containing "a list of all the employees at a classified security agency". @dsgordon @nowthisnews Whelan's military record is rife with criminal activity which resulted in a Bad Conduct Discharge. David Whelan, meanwhile, has dismissed the allegations as nonsense. Video, 00:01:32Brother of detained American speaks, The Russian gun activist who was jailed in US. "Nothing's translated, Your Honour," the 50-year-old protested, sending an interpreter scurrying over to explain his fate. Who is Paul Whelan? mannymoelarry 2 mo. WebEither a spook or doing some industrial espionage. | David Whelan, Pauls brother, said in a statement that U.S. officials told them on Wednesday that Paul wouldnt be part of the exchange that freed Griner and expressed pessimism about the chance of seeing his brother go free. ET Friday in San Antonio. Video, 00:01:32, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. The Whelan family eventually found a name and even a photograph. "I don't know anything what [sic] might be interesting to foreign spy. Since late 2018, he has been held on espionage charges, which he denies. "In reality, they abducted Mr Bean on holiday.". He took a military leave of absence from Kelly Services, he testified, to serve in Iraq. "This is how FSB careers are made; people rise on the back of such cases, like mushrooms after the rain.". [24] According to attorneys for Whelan, they could not provide the name of Whelan's Russian friend due to Russian secrecy rules, but Whelan's family identified the person as Ilya Yatsenko, whom the Russian newspaper Kommersant described as a major in the FSB's Department "K", which monitors Russian economic crimes. There's a Marines' flag flying right below the American flag on my parents' property the whole time," David told the BBC from Canada.
Who is Paul Whelan, the former U.S. Marine held in Russia? Paul Whelan would be brought for multiple custody hearings and appeals over the months and we squeezed in almost every time. Whalen was reduced in rank from staff sergeant to corporal and given a bad conduct discharge from the service.
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