Ex-US Marine Whelan convicted of espionage in Russia changes jail as Moscow says US not interested in swap

Paul Whelan, imprisoned

Paul Whelan, imprisoned in Russia on spy charges, will serve his sentence in Russia’s Republic of Mordovia, about 500km east of Moscow. It had been rumored he was likely to be swapped with the US for Russians.

The convicted spy, who holds American, British, Canadian, and Irish passports, was found guilty in June by a Moscow court on charges of espionage and was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He was arrested in December 2018 after receiving a USB device from an undercover FSB officer, containing sensitive information. Whelan maintains that he was set up, and thought the memory stick contained photos of a tourist trip.

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