Russia jails ex-US marine for 16 years over espionage
A Russian court found former US marine Paul Whelan guilty of spying for the United States yesterday and sentenced him to 16 years in jail, a move the US ambassador to Moscow called an egregious violation of human rights that would harm ties. Whelan, who holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports, was detained by agents from Russia's Federal Security Service in a Moscow hotel room on Dec. 28, 2018. Russia says Whelan, 50, was caught red-handed with a computer flash drive containing classified information. Whelan, who pleaded not guilty, said he was set up in a sting and had thought the drive, given to him by a Russian acquaintance, contained holiday photos.
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