New video aired Monday by Russian state-controlled media shows Paul Whelan, the former US Marine jailed on unsubstantiated espionage charges in Russia, going about his day in a penal colony. Whelan, wearing a black prison uniform, is seen eating in a cafeteria with other inmates, working on a sewing machine, and showing off what appears to be his prison ID. Whelan tells a Russia Today (RT) reporter that he won't answer any questions, though the reporter encourages him to "just talk," per the AP. "I can't do an interview," he repeats. In a statement, Paul's brother David Whelan said the RT crew turned up to film Whelan in May and "prison staff retaliated against him" after he failed to give an interview, per CNN.
The video marks "the first time I've seen what he really looks like since June 2020," David Whelan said. "I wish I could see Paul under better circumstances. But it was good to see him again and to see the fight remains in his eyes. It is good to know Paul remains unbowed." Paul Whelan, formerly the director of global security for US automotive parts supplier BorgWarner, has been detained since December 2018 when he says he traveled to Moscow for a wedding. Russia claims he was involved in an intelligence operation, though Whelan and the US say the allegation is baseless. Whelan was convicted of spying in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony in Mordovia, per Reuters. US officials have been trying to secure his release without success. (More Paul Whelan stories.)
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