In Russia, a Moscow court denied bail to a US former Marine who was arrested on espionage charges last month. Paul Whelan, 48, was taken into custody on 28th of last month by the Russian FSB security service.
He was caught while carrying out an act of espionage. The appeal of the defence for bail is not approved.
There is speculation the Russians might try to use Whelan as leverage for the release of Russia’s Maria Butina, who pleaded guilty to infiltrating America’s conservative political movement as a Kremlin-directed agent. Butina was convicted of acting as a foreign agent in the United States.
Butina is a gun rights campaigner who was convicted of being a foreign agent in the United States last month and likely faces six months in jail. However, Moscow has rejected the idea Whelan could be exchanged for any US prisoner.
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