Russia asks for 18-year sentence for ex-Marine in spying trial

Russian prosecutors asked for an 18-year prison sentence for Paul Whelan, an American citizen who is on trial for espionage charges.

“The prosecution has made a very harsh demand. It’s absolutely unjustified and groundless. To be honest, we’re in shock,” Whelan’s lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov said Monday, according to Reuters.

The court is expected to announce its verdict in the trial on June 15, Zherebenkov said.

The former Marine, who also holds British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship, traveled to Russia in December 2018 to attend the wedding of a friend and has insisted he is not a spy.

Russia’s Federal Security Service claimed it caught Whelan on a spy mission when it found a flash drive in his hotel room that allegedly contained classified information. Whelan’s legal team said the flash drive was planted by someone “connected to the military” whom Whelan considered a friend.

The trial, which began March 23, has been shrouded in secrecy.

“There is no legitimacy to a procedure that is hidden behind closed doors. It is not transparent, it is not fair, and it is not impartial,” U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said, calling it a “mockery of justice.”

Sullivan has also said investigators have shown “zero” evidence backing their case.