MOSCOW. Nov 30 (Interfax) - David Whelan, brother U.S. citizen Paul Whelan convicted in Russia of spying, has reported Paul's transfer to a penitentiary infirmary in Mordovia.
Officers from Penitentiary No. 17 in Mordovia said he was transferred to the infirmary on Friday, November 17, the day after a visit by U.S. and Irish diplomats, David Whelan told Interfax on Tuesday. He wondered why that happened, considering that Paul had no health complaints that would require hospitalization.
In his words, Paul Whelan looked healthy to the diplomats.
In the past, Paul Whelan always informed the family about his transfers to the infirmary, he said.
David wondered why Paul had not been allowed to make a phone call if he was really in the infirmary, considering that all inmates were allowed to do so. He did not rule out that his brother was actually put into a punitive confinement cell.
David said he was hoping the Mordovia Public Monitoring Commission could find out what happened to his brother.
David said on Monday that the U.S. diplomats and the family had no calls from Paul and found it unusual that Paul did not call his family on Thanksgiving.
The Moscow City Court sentenced Whelan, a citizen of the United States, Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom, to 16 years of imprisonment on espionage counts on June 15, 2020. He is serving time in High-Security Penitentiary No. 17 in Mordovia.
Lately, Whelan has been repeatedly mentioned in the context of a possible prisoner swap between Russia and the United States.