Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who was detained and accused of espionage, stands inside a defendants’ cage during his verdict hearing in Moscow, Russia June 15, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov Acquire Licensing Rights
LONDON, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Former U.S. marine Paul Whelan has been attacked by another inmate in a Russian prison while serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges, Russia’s prison service said on Wednesday, after Whelan’s brother publicised the incident.
Whelan, who denies spying on Russia, was punched in the face and forced to defend himself at a sewing workshop in a high security penal colony in Russia’s Mordovia region southeast of Moscow, his brother Dave Whelan said in a statement.
“A new prisoner blocked part of the production line and Paul asked him to move out of the way. After repeated requests, the prisoner hit Paul in the face, breaking Paul’s glasses in the process, and attempted to hit him a second time,” Dave Whelan said.
“Paul stood up to block the second hit and other prisoners intervened to prevent the prisoner continuing the attack on Paul.”
Dave Whelan said the incident took place on Tuesday afternoon. He thought his brother was a target because…
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