Bloomberg
Paul Whelan, a former US marine who was convicted of spying in Moscow last week in a case criticised by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, won’t appeal his 16-year sentence, the Interfax news service reported Tuesday.
Whelan declined to appeal because he has no faith in Russian courts and hopes that a deal is in the works to exchange him for Russians jailed in the US, according to Interfax, which cited his lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov.
Interfax previously reported that Russia and the US are discussing a possible swap of Whelan for imprisoned Russians Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko, citing a person it didn’t identify.
Bout, an arms dealer jailed in 2012, and Yaroshenko, a pilot serving a 20-year sentence
for conspiracy to smuggle cocaine, were seized in third countries and brought to the US for trial.