�WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2021) Elizabeth Whelan, sister of US citizen Paul Whelan who serves a prison sentence in Russia for espionage, met in Washington with US ambassador John Sullivan and representatives of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) office earlier this week, the Whelan family said in a statement on Friday.
"Elizabeth...� was able to meet with Ambassador John Sullivan... [She] was also able to have other meetings, including with the (SPEHA office," the statement, obtained by Sputnik, said.
The Whelan family appreciates the attention the US government and elected representatives are giving to this case, the statement� added.
Paul Whelan, who is also a citizen of Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, was arrested in Russia in December 2018. A court in Moscow sentenced him to 16 years in prison for espionage last June.
Whelan has denied the charges and insisted he came to Russia for a friend's wedding. Court papers have revealed that he has frequented Russia since 2007.
