- Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was allegedly attacked by another inmate in a Russian prison labor camp on Tuesday. He has been serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges in Mordovia since 2020, allegations that Whelan strongly denies.
- According to audio obtained by CNN, Whelan said he “was assaulted by a Turkish prisoner, 50 years old, who has recently arrived at the prison and has anti-American leanings.”
- Whelan, who suffered an abrasion beneath one of his eyes per a reported account from Russian authorities, claimed that the Turkish inmate attacked him with a closed fist and attempted to hit him again before other inmates intervened.
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US-British Paul Whelan, a former US Marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, holds a message as he stands inside a defendants' cage before a hearing to decide to extend his detention at the Lefortovo Court in Moscow on October 24, 2019. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)
