Former US Marine Paul Whelan, who’s serving a jail sentence for espionage in Russia, has been injured in an altercation with a fellow inmate, the Russian authorities mentioned. He was reportedly attacked by a prisoner of Turkish origin.
Whelan is serving his sentence at Penal Colony Quantity 17 in Russia’s Mordovia area. In accordance with the Federal Penitentiary Service, a “private dispute” between Whelan and one other inmate had led to a “battle scenario” within the jail workshop, throughout which Whelan was “struck within the face with a hand.”
Corrections officers “instantly” intervened and broke up the combat, officers mentioned. They added that the American was then taken to the medical wing and handled for “a bruise below an eye fixed.” The incident was caught on safety cameras and is below investigation, in accordance with officers.
Jail authorities offered no further particulars. The Russian information company Interfax, nevertheless, cited an individual conversant in the matter as saying that “an inmate from Türkiye” had attacked Whelan due to unspecified “political variations.”
CNN cited an audio assertion from Whelan, wherein he mentioned that on Tuesday he “was assaulted by a Turkish prisoner, 50 years previous, who has lately arrived on the jail and has anti-American leanings.” In accordance with the assertion, the inmate struck Whelan “along with his closed fist” after which tried to strike him “along with his open hand.” Whelan went on to state that the attacker was finally stopped by different prisoners, and that no guards have been current on the manufacturing facility when the combat occurred.
“I’m asking to talk to the prosecutor with a purpose to press expenses for the assault,” Whelan mentioned, including that “the jail is taking the incident severely.”
A State Division spokesperson informed CNN that the US Embassy in Moscow had contacted Whelan over the telephone and understood that “he’s receiving medical therapy following this incident.” The spokesman urged Russia to make sure Whelan’s security. Whelan’s Russian lawyer, Olga Karlova, informed Interfax that she can be in touch with him.
Whelan, who holds US, Irish, Canadian and British passports, was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 after accepting a flash drive with categorised paperwork from an undercover officer of the Russian Federal Safety Service (FSB).
He was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in jail in June 2020. Whelan has denied the allegations, whereas the US insists that the fees in opposition to him are politically motivated. Whelan’s identify repeatedly comes up in reviews about potential prisoner swaps between Moscow and Washington.
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