Russian Human Rights Council Says To Check If US Spy Suspect Whelan's Rights Respected

Umer Jamshaid Published May 24, 2019 | 05:16 PM

The Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights will check if the rights of US citizen Paul Whelan, who is kept in Russian custody on espionage suspicions, are respected, and a reaction will follow if any violations are revealed, Mikhail Fedotov, the chair of the council, said on Friday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2019) The Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights will check if the rights of US citizen Paul Whelan, who is kept in Russian custody on espionage suspicions, are respected, and a reaction will follow if any violations are revealed, Mikhail Fedotov, the chair of the council, said on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Whelan said at a court hearing, through an interpreter, that an investigator from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) was threatening his life. The FSB has not provided any comment yet. Meanwhile, Whelan's lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told reporters that Whelan did not really mean that his life was in danger, but just voiced concerns about conditions in jail and about the possibility of getting an unfair sentence.

"When such signals emerge, we certainly ask members of the council, who are also members of Moscow Public Oversight Commission, to visit the person, check [conditions of detention], and to find out what this person complains about and if this person's rights are respected or violated.

If we find out that his rights are violated, then we will certainly react and draw regulatory bodies' attention to this problem," Fedotov told reporters.

Whelan, who is also a citizen of Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, was arrested in Russia in December on charges of espionage. Earlier on Friday, a Moscow court extended his arrest until August 29. Whelan denies the charges and insists he came to Russia to attend a friend's wedding.

If convicted, Whelan faces up to 20 years in prison. Russian officials have so far not released details with respect to the charges against Whelan.