Detroit Free Press: Lawmakers to Russia: Show us evidence Paul Whelan is a spy or let him go

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  If Paul Whelan really is a spy, show us the evidence or let him go, a contingent of lawmakers demanded of the Russian government Thursday on Capitol Hill.

Whelan, 49, of Novi, was arrested in December at Moscow's Metropol Hotel, accused of espionage. For nearly nine months, he's been detained without a trial at the notorious Stalin-era Lefortovo Prison. 

"We believe that the Russians need to release Paul unless they can come up with some sort of concrete evidence to keep him there," said U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan.

Peters was joined by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Michigan, and U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens, D-Rochester Hills, Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, and Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, Andy Levin, D-Bloomfield Township, and Massachusetts Rep. William R. Keating in calling on their colleagues in both houses Thursday to support resolutions condemning the Russian Federation for continuing to imprison Whelan on spying charges without presenting evidence.

"Together, we are all pressing for Michigander Paul Whelan's release and safe return home from Russia," said Peters, who stood beside fellow members of Congress and Whelan's sister, Elizabeth. "... To be able to pick an American citizen off the street, put him in prison and not a very good prison at that, under very difficult circumstances. ... It is simply not the way that a government should operate.

"... Certainly after nine months, enough time has passed. It's time for action. It's time to release Paul."

Stevens said Whelan, who lives in her Congressional district, has written to her from prison, and told her the conditions are deplorable.

"He has personally written to me and said we can rest assured that he is in a miserable place. ... I have prayed for Paul during these dark days," Stevens said.

But Stabenow said Whelan needs more than prayers. 

"We are doing everything we can, everything we can to bring Paul home, and that's why we stand here together," she said.

Whelan has said that since he was arrested, he was hurt by a guard at the prison, has been interrogated without his lawyers and has had very limited access to consular services from the U.S. Embassy.

The coalition of lawmakers said Thursday that needs to stop.

"All we ask is give us the reason (for his detainment) or release Paul," Walberg said to the Russian government. "And while you have Paul, take care of him. Be humane. Allow information to be given to him. Allow correct counsel to be given. ... Enough's enough."

Whelan is a former U.S. Marine and was director of global security for Auburn Hills-based auto-supplier BorgWarner when he was arrested.

The Russian Security Service (FSB) has said Whelan was caught with a flash drive containing classified information. He maintains his innocence and insists that his arrest was a set up. His family has said he was in Russia to attend the wedding of a friend. 

Whelan has had several pre-trial court hearings, and his detention has been repeatedly extended. A trial for Whelan isn't likely to take place until November or December at the earliest, said his attorney Olga Karlova.

The timing of his trial might also depend on his health, Karlova said, which has been deteriorating since his incarceration.

Whelan had an independent medical exam last week at a hospital outside the prison, Karlova told the Free Press Wednesday, where doctors confirmed that he likely will need surgery to repair a hernia.

"He feels better because he has some pain medication. ... His hernia is needed to be operated on," Karlova wrote in an email. "Before taking a decision whether to have surgery or not, Paul will have deep examination including scanning, analyses, etc. So after it the results could be sent to his doctors in Canada and the USA to take a decision about further actions."

Karlova said X-rays also were taken of a sore shoulder and knee, and an ointment was prescribed along with physical therapy.

"So now Paul will be taken regularly to hospital for examination," she said.

An appeal of his continued detention is set for Sept. 17 in Moscow City Court, Karlova said.

Whelan's sister, Elizabeth Whelan, thanked the lawmakers for their support Thursday, and said her family will not rest until her brother is back on American soil. 

"What has happened to Paul could happen to any one of us," she said. "Paul is an extraordinary brother, but he is an ordinary American citizen who traveled to Russia to help a friend and became trade fodder in a geopolitical dispute which is not of his making.

"With Paul on one side, and us on the other, we have endured a systemic lack of transparency, both with respect to the Russian court proceedings as well as Paul's conditions of confinement. We have no means to access critical information about Paul's well-being including whether he is receiving adequate medical treatment or any treatment at all.

"Paul's unlawful and continued detention is quite simply a violation of the fundamental rights of an American citizen. We can't allow American citizens to be used in a political tug of war. This cannot be tolerated. We don't know the circumstances surrounding his arrest, but we should all be alarmed and outraged at this continued injustice."

Whelan, who was born in Canada to British parents, has passports from four countries — the United States, Canada, England and Ireland, where his grandparents were citizens.

Kildee said Whelan's detainment is a nonpartisan issue, and it's not all that different than a case several years ago involving one of his constituents, Amir Hekmati, who was arrested in Iran and accused of being an American spy. Eventually, following a similar resolution in Congress, Hekmati came home along with three other Americans as part of a swap negotiated with Iranian officials.

"This delegation, members of the House and the Senate, Democrats and Republicans spoke with one voice then and, ultimately, we were able to secure Amir Hekmati's freedom and hopefully that's what we will do in this case," Kildee said.

"When we stand together, when we speak together with one voice, when we set aside the policy differences we may have from time to time and stand up for an American who is being held against his will and speak with that strong voice, I believe we will succeed. Paul Whelan should be home with his family. The people of the United States believe that ... and that's what we're here to do."

President Donald Trump has been silent about Whelan's case, despite Whelan's plea from court in June, asking the president to intervene with a tweet.

To that, Stabenow said: "We would welcome the president's involvement."