Moscow City Court Upholds Arrest Extension Of US Espionage Suspect Whelan

The Moscow City Court ruled on Thursday to keep in effect the verdict of the Moscow Lefortovsky District Court to extend the arrest of US national Paul Whelan, who has been in custody on charges of espionage since December

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th June, 2019) The Moscow City Court ruled on Thursday to keep in effect the verdict of the Moscow Lefortovsky District Court to extend the arrest of US national Paul Whelan, who has been in custody on charges of espionage since December.

On Friday, the Lefortovsky Court ruled to extend Whelan's until August 29, after which the spy suspect filed an appeal.

"The court has decided to leave the Moscow Lefortovo Court ruling unchanged and to reject the appeal request," the judge, Pavel Melekhin, said.

Whelan, who holds US, UK, Canadian and Irish citizenship, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 on charges of espionage.

He denies the accusations and insists that he came to Russia to attend a friend's wedding. According to the information provided at the court, Whelan has been regularly visiting Russia since 2007. He works as a senior manager at the automotive industry company BorgWarner. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

On May 30, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov confirmed that Whelan and his legal team will have full access to case materials after investigation is completed.