US citizen Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16 year prison sentence in Russia for espionage, talked to his parents over the telephone for the first time since April, his brother David Whelan said in a statement on Thursday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th July, 2020) US citizen Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16 year prison sentence in Russia for espionage, talked to his parents over the telephone for the first time since April, his brother David Whelan said in a statement on Thursday.
"Paul spoke with our parents yesterday [7/8/2020].� He called at 4:30 a.m. Eastern Time and they spoke for about 30 minutes," the statement said.� "It was the first phone call since April, as the prison had denied him calls for the past two months despite Judge Andrei Suvorov's order."
Whelan said during the call that he had complained to independent prison monitors during their recent visit that he had not been receiving letters in addition to not being able to make telephone calls.
"That appears to have shaken loose 170 letters the prison had been withholding from him. They have not yet delivered the English-language books our family mailed to the prison," the statement said.
Whelan said he was eager to learn that his parents are in good health amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, the statement said.
"He gets little news and was worried about the lockdown and how they were doing.� He shared some anecdotes from his trial and a recent visit by a prosecutor to the prison," the statement added.
Whelan also informed his parents that he received no consular visits since February.
The Russian authorities arrested Whelan on charges of espionage in December 2018. A Moscow court sentenced him to a prison sentence of 16 years on June 15.
