Family of accused US spy says he’s innocent

Bloomberg

The family of a US citizen detained in Moscow on December 28 on suspicion of espionage said he was a former marine who was in Russia for a wedding.
Paul Whelan, the director of global security for Michigan-based auto parts supplier BorgWarner Inc., hasn’t been in touch since the day of his arrest, his family said in a statement posted by his brother David on Twitter.
“We are deeply concerned for his safety and well-being,” the family said. “His innocence is undoubted and we trust that his rights will be respected.”
Whelan was arrested “during an espionage operation,” Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, said. He faces a sentence of as long as 20 years in prison if found guilty of spying.
The detention came two weeks after Maria Butina, a Russian gun enthusiast, pleaded guilty in the US to conspiring to act as an unregistered foreign agent. Following her deal with prosecutors, in which she faces a maximum sentence of five years, President Vladimir Putin said at his annual press conference that Russia wouldn’t “arrest innocent people simply to exchange them for someone else later on.”
Moscow and NATO countries have routinely conducted spy exchanges in the past, including the swap of 10 Russian sleeper agents for four alleged double agents in 2010.
BorgWarner said in a statement it has been in touch with the US government to help Whelan, who oversees security at its Michigan facilities and at other locations around the world.
The company does not have any facilities in Russia but has supplied Russian truck-maker Kamaz with technology for over 15 years.
The US has been alerted to the detention and expects Russian authorities to provide consular access as required under the Vienna Convention, according to a State Department official.