Russia: Moscow court upholds arrest for suspected US spy Whelan

M/S Suspected US spy Paul Whelan holding up protest note in defendant's cage, Moscow City Court
W/S Whelan, journalists
SOT, Paul Whelan, suspected US spy: "This case is an absurd provocation. No evidence of crime exists. I am asking the leaders and the governments in Ottawa, Dublin, London and Washington, as well as the United Nations to intervene."
M/S Journalists outside court
SOT, Vladimir Zherebenkov, Paul Whelan’s lawyer (Russian): "We consider today's decision of the Moscow City Court to be illegal, unreasonable and partly politically motivated. You understand perfectly well the relations between the two countries. We will, of course, continue to appeal this decision. As for our familiarisation with the results of the case, yes, we really started to get acquainted with the case materials. I can say that they do not convince me. Indeed, Paul trusted his acquaintance seriously enough, there were a lot of conversations from which you can edit any text. But we have not really studied the phonographic expertise, since we have not seen the appendix. We do not know how well this examination was carried out, what equipment was used, what methods. Therefore, I can’t say anything here, but I also gave a non-disclosure agreement."
W/S Moscow City Court
SCRIPT
Moscow City Court on Tuesday upheld suspected US spy Paul Whelan's detention until October 29.
Whelan himself called the case "an absurd provocation" and appealed for the US, Canadian, British and Irish authorities to intercede. The former US Marine Corps veteran holds citizenship from the four countries.
His lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov stated that the court's decision was "illegal, unreasonable and partly politically motivated," adding that the defence team would appeal the decision.
Commenting on Whelan's claims that he was framed by an acquaintance, Zherebenkov stated that "there were a lot of conversations from which you can edit any text. But we have not really studied the phonographic expertise, since we have not seen the appendix. We do not know how well this examination was carried out, what equipment was used, what methods."
Whelan was detained in the Russian capital on December 28. If found guilty of espionage, he faces up to 20 years in prison.