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In room 3324 of the Moscow Metropol Hotel , Paul Whelan was always bursting dressed officers for a friend's wedding at The Russian Secret Service .

The American disappeared without a trace for Three Days until his twin stumbled over a news report announcing that his brother had confessed to spying.

it was New Year 's eve 2018 and the start of a case that would involve four Western governments and a heap of pressure on relations with Russia, which has already sunk to a post-Cold War low.

Almost 18 months later, Whelan was convicted of espionage - the reception of Russian State Secrets , After a short study, the exclusively behind closed doors.

The former US Marine, the British, Irish and Canadian Citizenship - has always insisted on his innocence, and In Court This Week , he described himself a victim of the "greasy, slimy Russian policy".

As His Family step up to bring their appeals to Him home, the officials in Moscow are already adding a touch of a finger on a possible prisoner swap, to play to the suspicion that The Man from Michigan is a pawn in a political game.

On 15 June, took the Supreme judge for only 1 minute and 20 seconds to reach The Most important words in his sentence.

"the Moscow City Court ...finds Paul Nicholas Whelan guilty," he read from the typed sheet, adding that the 16-year sentence would be served in a high-security facility for The Most dangerous offenders.

The Judge then turned to the address of the defendant, in a glass cage, guarded by two FSB security officers in black balaclavas. Straight wooden courtroom benches, socially distanced, and in medical face masks, were The Ambassadors of the USA, UK and Canada .

"Whelan, do You understand The Sentence ?", he asked.

The Americans , whose glasses, side parting and a blue sweater, which he wore to every Court appearance gave Him The Look of a well-kept, middle-aged, the librarian, looked at The Judge blankly.

Be Russian is not up to this.

"Nothing is translated, Your honor," the 50-year-old protested, send us an interpreter scurrying to explain about his fate. A three-judge swept from The Podium and from The Court .

It was a flat, abrupt end to a Spy test had taken version, only a handful of closed hearings. Moscow Covid-19 lockdown was shrouded in an Even thicker layer of secrecy, both The Press and the public be denied, The Building up to the Final Verdict .

The First Time I saw in Whelan The Court , also over a year ago, he came up with a weak smile and a brown cardboard box slung lunch his chest with a Packed prison. He was flanked by guards of the FSB, the faces covered so they could not be identified.

state TV-Teams, the float for your recordings in the hallway, already referring to the defendant as an "American Spy ".

Paul Whelan brought right to hearings and appeals in the course of the months, and we would be more concern for it almost every Time . Although we were only allowed to visit, for the opening speech we were able to snatch several conversations with Him .

That on The First day, though - in a cage, with a dozen cameras focused on Him - he looked tense and spoke little.

Nearly two months had passed since his arrest, and He Said that he is coping "well". But when I asked for his side of The Story , and his eyes flicked in the direction of The Guards . "If I do this, I'll be in a bad way," Whelan said to me, suspicious. "You don't want to talk to me, with them. "

A member of his defense team has revealed since then that he is being interrogated to come and confess, under intense pressure from the FSB, several times, without his lawyers present.

"would You get things like, say," There is no hope For You to tell us The Truth You 're a Spy , You will be condemned,'" - Olga Karlova told me Last Summer .

The Americans refused, and as his Time In custody was extended repeatedly, he will gradually be more courageous In Court .

Whelan, at The Time of his arrest, The Head of the global security in an American car was to condemn parts of the company that began the accusation of espionage as "ridiculous", and explain that he tried by a "kangaroo Court ". He made a speech for each meeting, prepare would write it on a sheet of paper checked and stamped by The Prison censorship.

"Russia says it caught James Bond announced on a spying mission," Whelan One Day , as we were waiting for The Judge . "In reality, they kidnapped and Mr Bean On Holiday . "

then we would have learned that The American had visited Russia several times. On his last trip in December 2018, he was in Moscow for The Wedding of the colleague, the ex-Marine to a Russian Woman . But Whelan never made it to The Ceremony . He was arrested in his room, only a few hours After the demonstration some of The Other Wedding Guests around the grounds of the Kremlin.

So, at a hearing before The Court at the end of Last Year , I raised my Voice Over a wall of the bailiff, Once Again , what had happened.

He hesitated a little before coming back.

"I'm not allowed to give You the details, but I can tell You , I was set-up. I didn't commit A Crime ," Whelan said, to tell me that she had a friend up to his hotel that evening, unannounced.

When Whelan was arrested, the FSB, a USB Drive In the bag with the secret information, it is claimed that he had requested. Now he told me, his friend, The Device was planted in his bag without realizing it.

"this person was an FSB officer. He is someone I have known for Ten Years ," he revealed for the First Time .

"There is absolutely no reason he should have one in my room and there is no reason he, to me is given, each type of device. "

When The Judge returned to The Court to extend his stay in prison, Whelan's broken out of frustration.

"I can talk louder than You , your honor," he shouted from The Cage . "As my cousins in England would say, that's total crap. "

The Judge ordered the TV cameras be removed from the yard. The shooting locked was to stop on all future hearings, press coverage, no protests.

The Russian government Paul Whelan declared guilty, a Long Time ago.

Just Two Weeks After his arrest, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that The Americans had been caught "red-handed" the implementation of a "specific, illegal act".

The case was immediately the Big News , which grew further when it emerged that Mr Whelan, a citizen of four countries.

Born in Canada to parents of Irish heritage, he later moved to the United States entitle Him several passes lead.

at the beginning of 2019, the drama of his multi-national arrest of the development has not been felt against a hostile political background, with the mutual sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and East-West tension since The Time of the Soviet Union.

Nine Months earlier, had the United Kingdom accused Russia of poisoning Sergei Skripal , a former double-agent, on The Streets of Salisbury. At the same Time , Washington is accusing Moscow was interfering in the elections.

So, if Whelan's plight became public, there was speculation that he was the human collateral.

The FSB was to make already would drip at the end of the details of the case before The Court .

The Russian Rosbalt news Agency quotes a source that claims that Whelan was the direct work for the US secret services, with the task of obtaining a list of employees to "Russia's secret facilities". She said that The Information about the object of "intense interest" of The Americans was, and that Whelan had to cultivate potential contacts, online, for over a decade.

Spy trials in Russia are not only heard, In Secret , the defense of confidentiality to sign agreements over the entire case. So, no Evidence of wire taps or surveillance footage, the case has been made, according to reports, based - accessible to the public.

In Whelan's case, there is the nuance added, were appointed as his defence team, and paid for the Russian State . His Family decided not to change them, on the grounds that a bill of over $150,000 (£121,000) was "a lot of resources for what would have zero impact".

"secrecy, provocation and fake, this is the arsenal of our opponents," said Ivan Pavlov , a lawyer for Human Rights that went against the FSB in many of the espionage cases.

Paul Whelan ' s travel in Russia began More Than a decade ago.

Source of news: bbc.com