The family of Paul Whelan, a US citizen imprisoned in Russia on charges of espionage, said on Tuesday that they have launched a fundraising campaign to help him buy stamps, envelopes and paper to enable him to communicate more often and boost his morale
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2023) The family of Paul Whelan, a US citizen imprisoned in Russia on charges of espionage, said on Tuesday that they have launched a fundraising campaign to help him buy stamps, envelopes and paper to enable him to communicate more often and boost his morale.
"We use his GoFundMe funds to ensure he has money to buy paper and envelopes and stamps to reply (letters). This has been a huge boost and hopefully will help tide him through the long wait ahead to be released," the family said in a statement.
During recent calls to his family and the US embassy in Moscow, Whelan said he had received 305 letters and cards postmarked December 2022.
"They were given to him in batches of 140, 80 and 85 - all in the last two weeks. It has been a huge boost to Paul's morale," the statement said.
The reason for the delay in delivering the letters and postcards is unclear, the statement added.
Whelan was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 and subsequently sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges of espionage. Whelan, who is also a citizen of Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, has maintained that he is innocent and insisted that he arrived in Russia to attend a friend's wedding.
