MOSCOW. April 15 (Interfax) - Relatives of Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen accused of spying in Russia, are concerned about his health because of coronavirus infection spread in the country, Paul's brother David said on Wednesday.
"Paul's health is at greater risk than ever. Paul has asked for a coronavirus test but the request was denied," David told Interfax on Wednesday.
"The prison seems unable to offer any protection against the virus either," David Whelan said.
"An attempt by the U.S. Embassy to deliver personal protective equipment - gloves, cleaning cloths - was rejected," he said.
Whelan's defense lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told Interfax he had no information on the matter but confirmed that his client was not provided with any individual protective items either at the detention facility or while he was transported to a courthouse.
"Paul and I said at the court that he had no individual protective means either at the detention facility or during his transportation to the courthouse. Paul said at the court that he only had a Fairy dishwashing liquid at his cell and that nothing else was given to him. Nobody knows who was in the vehicle in which he has been brought to the courthouse, or at the guardroom where he was kept before hearings. Nobody knows whether the vehicle used to transport him has ever been sanitized. There is no guarantee that Federal Penitentiary Service officials or guardsmen are absolutely healthy. As for a test, perhaps he did ask for that, but he didn't tell me about that," Zherebenkov said.
Whelan has not shown any symptoms indicative of the coronavirus infection, he said.
"He has problems with a groin hernia, which has worsened now, and this is why he asked the court to admit a doctor from the U.S. embassy to him at the detention facility. He has no fever, or trouble breathing, or anything like this," he said.
Even though the court did not postpone the hearing to the end of April but set it for April 20, the defense will insist on postponing the proceedings to a later date, until the coronavirus situation in Moscow improves, he said.
"As the authorities have introduced self-isolation requirements, everyone should self-isolate, especially considering that the detention facility is in quarantine. Moreover, there is nothing urgent about our case. We would like the court proceedings to be thoughtful and just rather than hasty, as we even have been unable to meet with our client in jail to discuss our actions," he said.
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.