The United States Embassy in Russia said that the American ambassador to Moscow visited detained US citizen Paul Whelan. Whelan has been detained in Mordovia in eastern Russia.
The US Embassy said on Thursday that US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy paid a visit to Whelan in the prison he has been detained in Mordovia in eastern Russia. Whelan, who is a former US Marine, was arrested in December 2018, detained for 18 months in Lefortovo prison, and sentenced to 16 years on charges of espionage. Whelan has denied wrongdoing.
“Paul has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than four years and his release remains an absolute priority. The US government will continue to engage Russian authorities in this case so Paul can come home as soon as possible,” tweeted the embassy.
Washington’s designation of Whelan’s case as “wrongfully detained” means that the US has dismissed the case as politically driven.
Last month, Tracy also made her first visit to another detained US citizen, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in early April on charges of espionage. This marks the first time since 1986 that a US journalist was detained in Russia for alleged spying. The Wall Street Journal has since rejected the charges against Gershkovich, which would carry a prison sentence of 20 years.
“He feels well and is holding up. We reiterate our call for Evan’s immediate release,” Tracy said in a message on the Telegram messaging platform in Russian.
The White House has also dismissed the charges as “ridiculous,” with President Joe Biden saying that Gershkovich’s detention is “totally illegal.”
Tracy did not indicate how long she spent with Gershkovich during her visit to the Lefortovo detention center in Moscow. Tracy’s visit came ahead of the court hearing that was expected to consider Gershkovich’s appeal of the charges. The White House also said it hopes to get regular consular access to Gershkovich,
Russia’s security service FSB accused Gershkovich of collecting state secrets about Russia’s military-industrial complex. The Kremlin also said Gershkovich was “caught red-handed” but did not cite any evidence to support its claim against the reporter.