Paul Whelan Wiki:- Paul Whelan, who is also known as Paul Nicholas Whelan, is a former member of the United States Marine Corps (USMC), with American, Irish-British and Canadian citizenships.
Whelan was arrested in Russia on December 28, 2018, on espionage charges. On June 15, 2020, Paul was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
At a press conference on Thursday, December 8, 2022, US President Biden said the US government will “never give up” on securing Mr Whelan’s release.
Here’s what we know about Mr. Paul and his case.
Who is Paul Whelan?
Paul Nicholas is a citizen of 4 countries – USA, UK, Canada and Republic of Ireland. Military records show that Paul joined the US Marine Reserves in 1994, about 6 years after he allegedly started working as a police officer in Michigan.
Mr Whelan left the company in 2016 to become director of global safety for US-based automotive component supplier BorgWarner. He was “responsible for overseeing security” in Michigan and around the world.
The Paul Whelan era
Paul Nicholas Whelan was born on March 5, 1970 to British parents of Irish descent and moved to the US as a child. His birthplace was Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. According to his date of birth, Whelan is now 52 years old.
Why is Paul Whelan in prison?
Since his first visit in 2006, Paul has traveled to Russia several times and gained an in-depth knowledge of the country. Because of his understanding of Russia, he was invited to attend the wedding of a fellow ex-Marine in Moscow in December 2018.
However, on December 28, Paul was arrested by the Russian state security agency FSB, which stated that he was “caught in espionage” in Moscow.
At the time, there were unsubstantiated reports that he was caught receiving a digital storage device with a list of intelligence officials.
Meet Brittney Griner and Marine Paul Whelan. Both Americans. Both were convicted in Russian courts on dubious charges. Both are serving multi-year sentences in a Russian prison. Brittney hates America Paul served America
Guess who Biden freed from terrorists?
Semper fi Paul pic.twitter.com/tuP1R6AZpf
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 8, 2022
The conviction and sentence of Paul Whelan
On June 15, 2020, Paul was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison under supervision at a court in Moscow. His lawyer said they believe Russia will now seek a prisoner exchange.
Whelan is currently being held in a high-security prison, IK-17, located 8 hours southeast of Moscow.
Paul Whelan’s family
Whelan was born to British parents. He has a twin brother named David Whelan. Besides his twin brother, Paul has a brother named Andrew Whelan and a sister named Elizabeth Whelan.
David Whelan, brother of Paul Whelan
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Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education