American arrested on suspicion of espionage in Moscow

The FSB reports that it has detained an American citizen in Moscow on suspicion of espionage. Accusations of espionage have been a constant theme in relations between Russia and the West in recent years.

Фото: Depositphotos

The FSB names the detainee as Paul Whelan. As reported on the FSB website, the American citizen was detained on December 28 “during an espionage action.”

A case has been opened against him under Article 276 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (espionage). The maximum sentence is 20 years.

A spokesman for the US State Department said they knew about the detention of an American citizen. The Russian Foreign Ministry, according to a State Department spokesman, notified the American side of the arrest.

“Russia’s obligations under the Vienna Convention require it to provide consular access. We have requested consular access and expect the Russian authorities to grant it. Due to privacy concerns, we are unable to provide additional information at this stage,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.

Accusations of espionage in recent years have been a constant theme in relations between Russia and the West, in particular the United States and Britain.

In mid-December, a trial was held in the United States over the 2018 arrested in July Russian woman Maria Butina. She was accused of criminal conspiracy to work in the United States as a foreign agent without proper registration in the Ministry of Justice.

The Russian woman pleaded guilty and made a deal with the investigation, hoping for a mitigation of punishment.

In March, Britain and a number of its Western allies sent more 100 Russian diplomats and their families in response to the former GRU agent poisoning in the English city of Salisbury Sergey Skripalme and his daughters.

The British government then accused the Russian authorities of poisoning its former agent with the military nerve agent Novichok. Russia denied all the accusations and expelled dozens of Western diplomats in response.

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