US Spy Suspect Whelan Says In Court Investigator From Russian FSB Threatens His Life

US citizen Paul Whelan, who is kept in Russian custody on espionage suspicions, said on Friday during a hearing in a Moscow court that the investigator, who serves as a captain of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), was threatening his life, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the courtroom

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2019) US citizen Paul Whelan, who is kept in Russian custody on espionage suspicions, said on Friday during a hearing in a Moscow court that the investigator, who serves as a captain of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), was threatening his life, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the courtroom.

"FSB Captain [Aleksey] Khizhnyak is acting unprofessionally, he humiliates me and threatens my life," Whelan said, through his interpreter.

At the ongoing hearing the court will decide whether to extend Whelan's arrest for three more months or not.

Whelan, who is also a citizen of Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, was arrested in Russia in December on charges of espionage. 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.