The Ex-Marine officer Whelan stated that he was in Russia to attend a friends wedding, and he knew that the flash drive contained some holiday photos he had received. "I will be with guys from the FSB, so should be okay! "My grandfather came from Ireland to England and my father came from England to Canada, and that's where we were born. It was noticeable, one such report said, that he chose only to befriend men and not "pretty Russian girls". [15] He took courses at Northern Michigan University from fall 1988 to fall 1990 without earning a degree. The Puzzling Story of Accused Russian Spy Paul Whelan The twin brother of the American man being held in Moscow on alleged spying charges is urging the U.S. government to help get his brother released. The defence team said the Russian had requested a loan to buy a gift for his wife, as part of his trap. for choosing Brittney Grinner over Whelan. For his crimes, he was ultimately discharged from the Marine Corps for bad conduct, a ruling he unsuccessfully attempted to appeal. Nicknamed the merchant of death, Bout is a notorious arms dealer and has been in U.S. custody since his arrest in Thailand in 2008. The case was immediately big news that grew further when it emerged that Whelan was a citizen of four countries. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service. Paul Whelan would be brought for multiple custody hearings and appeals over the months and we squeezed in almost every time. Paul Whelan: What we know about the American detained in At the time, he was identified only as an American. The minute the American was convicted, the focus shifted to a possible prisoner swap. Paul Whelan Russia has not publicly presented any evidence to support the charges against Whelan. More: Paul Whelan's early life and the possibility of congressional intervention. "Having grown up during the Cold War, it was a dream of mine to visit Russia and meet some of the sneaky Russians who had kept the western world at bay for so long!!" It was with this scandal breaking behind the scenes, that he first headed for Moscow. As he still works for the FSB, I can't identify him so I'll call him "Dmitry". Whelan, a former U.S. Marine arrested in Russia on espionage charges, was visiting Moscow over the holidays to attend a wedding when he suddenly disappeared, his brother said Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019. Over the summer, reports indicated that the U.S. government was trying to negotiate the release of both Griner and Whelan in exchange for Bout. He's someone I've known for ten years," he revealed for the first time. "Factbox: Paul Whelan, Ex-U.S. Marine Jailed in Russia on Spying Charges." He joined the Marine Reserves May 10, 1994, and was an administrative clerk and administrative chief. So when Whelan's plight became public, there was speculation that he could be the human collateral. [4], Whelan lived in Novi, Michigan, prior to detainment in Russia.[49]. One friend who didn't want to be named told me he was "a little quirky", and liked to "push the line a bit". But the espionage case was based entirely on Whelan's ties to one officer, with all the evidence gathered in 2018 shortly before his arrest. In 2008, Paul was discharged from the Marines for his Bad Conduct. Image Via KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images. Whelan received what is categorized broadly as a punitive discharge. What are your opinions for this swap? There was also speculation over other possible motives for the arrest - including a suggestion Mr Whelan was detained so he could be exchanged with Maria Butina, a Russian gun rights activist, who was jailed in the US in December 2018. Almost exactly a year before Paul Whelan's arrest, a Norwegian staying at the same central Moscow hotel was arrested and charged with espionage. Whalen was reduced in rank from staff sergeant to corporal and given a bad conduct discharge from the service. @dsgordon @nowthisnews Whelan's military record is rife with criminal activity which resulted in a Bad Conduct Discharge. But he knows it took months of complex, confidential diplomacy to arrange a suitable swap for Frode Berg that eventually involved Russian agents in prison in Lithuania. Here's what this means for the future of other American hostages. According to court documents, he was in charge of the company's campus security group, and his duties included managing and conducting investigations, as well as handling some purchasing. The appropriate social media access links are given below. "I can't imagine how someone with a law enforcement background who is also a former US Marine, and who is now working in corporate security and is also aware of the risks of travel, would have broken any law let alone the law related to espionage," he said. Meanwhile, the front page of his website invited visitors to click on the image of a young Russian soldier to learn more about his "hobbies and military service". "He was always absolutely positive about the [Marines] experience. At the time, he was identified only as an American. The details of the charges against Whelan from a special court-martial two years later, which resulted in his discharge for bad conduct, add to an increasingly For his crimes, he was ultimately discharged from the Marine Corps for bad conduct, a ruling he unsuccessfully attempted to appeal. It is not intended to harm neither anyone, nor does it promotes any fake information. Reuters, 8 Dec. 2022. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/paul-whelan-ex-us-marine-jailed-russia-spying-charges-2022-12-08/. And so Paul will remain a prisoner until that changes, he said while applauding Griners release. Why did he face dishonorable discharge? David Whelan issued a family statement on Friday on behalf of his brother, Paul Whelan, saying that the family was very pleased to know that staff of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow have been given consular access to Paul and confirmed that he is safe., He says the familys focus remains on ensuring that Paul is safe, well treated, has a good lawyer, and is coming home.. Is climate change killing Australian wine? Reuters. [45], Whelan's brother David Whelan approved of the decision to "make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen. Did he commit any severe crime? It's clear that the US government has no concessions that the Russian government will take for Paul Whelan. BrwnLadyBee on Twitter: "@dsgordon @nowthisnews At Kelly Services, his title was senior manager of global security and investigations. Paul Whelan - Wikipedia He wondered whether some comment, or joke might have been disastrously misconstrued. [3][6], According to a deposition Whelan gave in 2013, he was in law enforcement from 1988 to 2000 as a police officer in Chelsea, Michigan, and a sheriff's deputy in Washtenaw County. And then, the Irish changed the law in the early part of the century to allow grandchildren of Irish citizens to get Irish citizenship. He is currently facing. The Interfax news agency says he has denied the allegation. He later worked as a global security executive for the auto "I don't know if it was machismo; to show off," Fietsam said. Why was Griner detained? "No way? "It just wouldn't happen," Fayhee believes. True. The latest: WNBA star Brittney Griner landed in the United States around 5:30 a.m. Paul Whelan, Ex-U.S. Marine Jailed in Russia on Spying Charges "[14] A few weeks later, Zherebenkov said Whelan had been unaware of the contents of the USB drive and believed it contained material solely of personal value such as "photographs, videos, anything at all, about his previous holiday in Russia. He's now back home after a prisoner-swap. [9][10] The specific charges against him included "attempted larceny, three specifications of dereliction of duty, making a false official statement, wrongfully using another's social security number, and ten specifications of making and uttering[a] checks without having sufficient funds in his account for payment. Whelan, who at the time of his arrest was the head of global security for a US-based car parts firm, began to denounce the charge of espionage as "ridiculous", and declare that he was being tried by a "kangaroo court". Sharing pictures of the visit, he said he had a "quite enjoyable time" exploring the cities of Moscow and St Petersburg. He thought it was cool to hang-out with FSB people and low level military personnel (probably anyone above a private rank would give him no attention). All the signs so far suggest Moscow is opening with a high bid - Viktor Bout, a weapons dealer serving 25 years in America and Konstantin Yaroshenko, sentenced to 20 years for drugs smuggling. [20] David said his brother entered Russia using his U.S. The American, whose glasses, side parting and blue sweater that he wore to each court appearance gave him the look of a neat, middle-aged librarian, looked back at the judge blankly. His job included campus security as well as electronic and IT-related security. "But it was very unusual.". Paul Nicholas Whelan (born March 5, 1970) is a Canadian-born former United States Marine with U.S., British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship. Read about our approach to external linking. Its clear that the U.S. government has no concessions that the Russian government will take for Paul Whelan. But when I asked for his side of the story, his eyes flicked towards the guards. Her release was secured via a prisoner exchange in which U.S. authorities released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. So without much ado, read thePaul Whelan Dishonorable Dischargeblog to know the complete story. Paul Whelan Earlier this year, American Trevor Reed, a former Marine who was detained in 2019, was exchanged for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who was convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. prison. Alexei Tarasov, Viktor Bout's attorney, told Russian television that Mr Whelan wasn't included in the swap because the exchange was on a "one for one" basis. What Is the Regulation of Cryptocurrency in Estonia. [24] According to attorneys for Whelan, they could not provide the name of Whelan's Russian friend due to Russian secrecy rules, but Whelan's family identified the person as Ilya Yatsenko, whom the Russian newspaper Kommersant described as a major in the FSB's Department "K", which monitors Russian economic crimes. At that, the judge ordered the TV cameras to be removed from court. In December 2018, while on a trip to attend a friend's wedding in Russia, Whelan was detained by Federal Security Service (FSB) agents. He said a trial would not begin for at least six months, and that he would welcome an exchange of Whelan for Butina. Cat-and-mouse chase with China in hotly contested sea, Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. After news of Griners release Thursday, U.S. officials lamented not being able to secure Whelans release, but said they were continuing the efforts. He held the rank of staff sergeant with Marine Air Control Group 38 working as an administrative clerk and administrative chief, and he was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In June 2020, Whelan was sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in a Russian prison for espionage, in a trial that he has argued was politically motivated and heightened tensions between the United States and Russia. He was formally charged on January 3, 2019. In messages home from Moscow in January 2018 - a free holiday to use up his air miles - the American described visiting restaurants with his agent-friend, as well as the museums of the Kremlin and even a British pub.
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