An eventful month for Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia
Paul Whelan (courtesy of the Whelan family).
It has been a little over a year since the Mirror last covered the progress being made in Paul Whelan’s case, and the world events that have happened within that time have made the family’s wait for his return home even more stressful.
Having reached a dubious milestone of spending 500 days in Lefortovo, a Russian prison, on May 11, 2020, Paul has had a busy month trying to navigate the complex Russian legal system (including defense attorneys who do not speak English) and prove his innocence so he can return home to the United States.
On May 12, Whelan was finally allowed an opportunity to phone his parents, Edward and Rosemary Whelan, here in Manchester, after more than 16 months of detention–a right that had been denied to him up until that time. It’s one of many violations of his rights that have occurred during his extended stay in Russia.
“It took a court order and, even with that, was delayed right up to the day before his next court appearance,” said Paul’s twin brother, David Whelan, who is the family’s spokesperson. “Our parents were glad to be able to hear Paul’s voice for the first time since December 2018.”
The trial started at the end of March and will conclude sometime this month with sentencing, so will have taken about 12 weeks from start to finish. On May 21, a new press release from David Whelan indicated that evidence presented in the trial as it wrapped up showed that Paul had been “set up for a $1,400 debt.”
“That’s the takeaway from Paul’s trial,” David reported. “The evidence wrapped up with the defense producing two character witnesses and reexamining (the prosecution’s sole witness) Ilya Yatsenko, identified as an FSB major in the Russian media … Based on a source at the trial, Paul believes Ilya set him up to avoid repaying a USD $1,400 (100,000 rubles) loan to Paul.”
Since the trial was held in secret, the only details provided are those released by participants to the media. “What little information that has reached the public suggests a corrupt Russian policeman rather than a foreign spy,” said David Whelan.
After discovering this turn of events, it was rather shocking to know that as the trial concluded on May 25, that the Russian prosecutor was requesting an extremely harsh sentence of 18 years, mostly due to Paul’s “non-repentance” for his supposed crime.
“It is hard to repent something you haven’t done,” David explains. “Paul was falsely arrested and wrongfully imprisoned. The FSB pressed Paul in the last days of December 2018, after his arrest and before anyone was allowed to see him, to confess. He didn’t. Paul has maintained his innocence throughout. He did so when he addressed the court yesterday. Now the prosecution wants him to pay as heavy a price as possible for his innocence.”
David Whelan ended his message of May 26 on a hopeful note, however:
“The US Embassy in Moscow has done incredible work supporting Paul,” he said. “Ambassadors Huntsman and Sullivan both spoke out about the injustice being done to Paul and the damage to US-Russia relations. We expect that the US government will finally act to bring this mockery of justice, this abuse of an American citizen, to an end. We hope the Russian Federation will, likewise, see Paul’s release–through clemency or some other means–as an opportunity to help rebuild the US-Russia relationship.”
To close out the month, on last Friday, May 29, the family learned that Paul Whelan had successful emergency surgery the previous evening, to address an ongoing health issue.
“There are no additional details as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has refused to answer any questions from the US Embassy about Paul’s condition without a diplomatic note,” David wrote on Friday morning. “We continue to be concerned for Paul’s health, particularly now that, as he recuperates, he may be more susceptible to other illnesses or infections. The coronavirus is spreading through Lefortovo. Lawyers visiting the prison must now wear gowns and hoods, not just masks. We hope that the prison will take steps so that Paul doesn’t face any other health emergencies.”
Letters to Paul Whelan are welcomed. If you would like to send him a note of support, the address is in the photo below. “They are a great morale boost for him and replying gives him something to do with his time,” said David.
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