29 May 2020 16:03

Whelan undergoes emergency hernia surgery in Russia - his brother

MOSCOW. May 29 (Interfax) - Paul Whelan, who has been charged with espionage in Russia, has undergone surgery for a hernia, and the surgery was successful, his brother David Whelan told Interfax.

"We learned early this morning from the U.S. Embassy that Paul's health had taken a turn for the worse. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the U.S. Embassy to let them know Paul experienced severe abdominal pain yesterday evening. The prison transferred him to Sklifosovsky hospital where doctors performed an emergency hernia surgery," David Whelan said.

The surgery was successful, he said. Whelan is expected to be transferred back to Lefortovo detention facility soon.

David Whelan said he hopes that the administration of the detention facility will take steps so that his brother's health does not deteriorate. The U.S. citizen's family is especially concerned that Whelan may be infected with coronavirus at the detention facility, because his body is weak following the surgery and more susceptible to other illnesses and infections.

Whelan's lawyers told Interfax that they are currently "finding out about his condition."

Lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov said in late 2019 that Russian medics had examined Whelan, who was earlier diagnosed with a groin hernia. Doctors concluded at the time that Whelan's illness was in remission, but if his condition worsened, they could perform surgery on him.

Whelan then refused to be operated on in Russia, as he wanted the surgery to be performed by his U.S. doctor.

Whelan, who earlier served in the U.S. Marine Corps, was detained in Moscow on December 28, 2018. He was arraigned for espionage under Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. This means that if found guilty, he could face between 10 and 20 years in jail.

According to Zherebenkov, Whelan has been charged with spying for U.S. security services. A flash drive seized from Whelan was found to contain state secrets. The defense argued that Whelan had expected the USB drive to contain personal data related to his earlier visits to Russia and had not had time to study its contents.

Whelan's brother David said that Whelan came to Moscow for a wedding.

Whelan denies any wrongdoing. He has described his prosecution as an act of provocation and "absurd political kidnapping."

At the time of his detention, Whelan was security director for BorgWarner , a car parts manufacturer. His brother said on December 18, 2019, that BorgWarner had made Paul redundant.

Zherebenkov told Interfax earlier that, after studying the case, the defense sees the evidence on which it is based as insufficient and resulting from "provocative actions," which it is determined to prove in court.

The Moscow City Court will pronounce Whelan's sentence on June 15.

During final arguments, the prosecution requested that the U.S. citizen be sentenced to 18 years in a high-security penal colony. The prosecution believes his guilt has been proven.

The defense and Whelan himself insist on his innocence and on his acquittal.