Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

US Embassy worried about condition of American jailed in Russia for spying

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow says that the condition of an American man held on spying charges in Russia has worsened

FILE In this file photo taken on Friday, May 24, 2019, Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who was arrested in Moscow at the end of last year, waits for a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia. An American man kept behind bars in Russia on spying charges has appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump for help. Whelan, who also holds British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, appealed to Trump in a Moscow court on Thursday, June 20, 2019 to intervene in his case and "defend" him. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)
FILE In this file photo taken on Friday, May 24, 2019, Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who was arrested in Moscow at the end of last year, waits for a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia. An American man kept behind bars in Russia on spying charges has appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump for help. Whelan, who also holds British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, appealed to Trump in a Moscow court on Thursday, June 20, 2019 to intervene in his case and "defend" him. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)Read morePavel Golovkin / AP

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Moscow says the condition of an American man held on spying charges in Russia has worsened.

The Embassy said on Twitter Monday that Russian authorities had rejected a request to send a doctor to examine Paul Whelan. It said Whelan has received basic medical assistance, but that his condition has deteriorated.

Whelan, who also holds British, Irish and Canadian citizenship, was arrested in a hotel room in Moscow in December and charged with espionage, which carries up to 20 years in prison.

The former U.S. Marine, who denies the charges, has publicly complained of poor prison conditions and has said his life is in danger.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Monday denied plans to exchange Whelan for Russians in U.S. custody.