Canadian Diplomats Visit Suspected Spy Paul Whelan In Moscow Prison - Family

Canadian Embassy diplomats visited suspected spy Paul Whelan in the Lefortovo prison in Moscow last week and said he appears to continue losing weight while not being provided an independent medical evaluation, Paul's brother David Whelan said in a statement on Monday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th November, 2019) Canadian Embassy diplomats visited suspected spy Paul Whelan in the Lefortovo prison in Moscow last week and said he appears to continue losing weight while not being provided an independent medical evaluation, Paul's brother David Whelan said in a statement on Monday.

"The Canadian Embassy visited Paul on Thursday, November 14," David said. "The consular staff noted that he appears to continue to lose weight and confirmed that there still had been no independent medical assessment of Paul's health."

Paul Whelan is a citizen of Canada as well as of the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland.

David expressed concern about leaks in the Russian media regarding Paul's case. He said the newspaper Kommersant reported that Paul provoked the interest of the Russian authorities by trying to establish contacts with the intelligence community.

David also said he noticed in the report that a person named Ilya Yatsenko had claimed he met with Paul several times.

"We are concerned with the new leak from what the FSB [Federal Security Service] says is a secret case, as captured by this Kommersant piece," David said. "There is no way to corroborate anonymous source 'Y' on a secret case. The story foreshadows what Paul is likely to experience with all of the trial evidence, which is that it will be secret and unrebutted or it will be leaked and uncorroborated."

In December 2018, the Russian authorities arrested Paul Whelan on charges of espionage. If convicted, he faces a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years. Whelan has insisted he is innocent and arrived in Russia to attend a friend's wedding.

An appeal hearing in Paul Whelan's case has been scheduled in Moscow on November 19.