MOSCOW. May 18 (Interfax) - The defense lawyers for U.S. citizen Paul Whelan, who has been charged with espionage in Russia, cannot question witnesses who fail to come to the Moscow City Court due to the coronavirus situation, Whelan's defense lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov told Interfax.
"Witnesses are failing to show up due to the coronavirus situation. Three people were expected to come today; no one came. I called one person, and I was told he was in quarantine, as he was in contact [with a person with coronavirus]. I think many people don't want to come, because they're in self-isolation, and no one wants to play Russian roulette and risk their health, bearing in mind the situation," Zherebenkov said on Monday after a hearing.
Another attempt to question witnesses for the defense will be made at the next hearing, which will take place on May 20, he said.
Whelan is expected to be questioned in court on the same day, Zherebenkov said.
The lawyer also said the parties may complete the presentation of evidence in the case and will set the date of the presentation of arguments on May 20. During the presentation of arguments, the parties will make final speeches in court and state their opinions on the defendant's punishment.
Written testimony from one of the witnesses, which was made during the previous hearing, and other case materials were read at today's hearing, Zheberenkov said. The parties also viewed videos related to the case.
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.