American Detained In Russia Over Spy Claims Was There For Wedding, says family

note, the tread title was this but i dont think the special character would not display correctly

American Detained In Russia Over Spy Claims Was There For Wedding: Family

www.huffingtonpost.com...

The family of Paul Whelan, a retired U.S. Marine recently detained on espionage charges in Russia is insisting on his innocence, saying he was abroad only for a wedding when he was taken into custody on Friday.

The Russian Federal Security Service, Russia’s security agency, confirmed Whelan’s arrest in a statement that accused him of conducting a “spy mission” while in Moscow, according to a translation by NPR.
An espionage conviction in Russia can carry a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years, Reuters reported.

“We have been formally notified of the detention by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” a State Department spokesperson said in an email. “Russia’s obligations under the Vienna Convention require them to provide consular access. We have requested this access and expect Russian authorities to provide it.”
Whelan’s arrest follows Russian gun rights activist Maria Butina’s pleading guilty to conspiracy against the U.S. in December. The close timing of his detention has led to speculation that it was done in retaliation.

why do you think the russians would just scoop him up?

this kind of thing happen internationally often?
someone getting scooped up for espionage charges i mean?

how hard does the US gov push to get these people out?

by default do they try or does it depend on the country and what the allegations are?


Trump went pretty hard a while back to get some dude back from North Korea. i dont remember why that dude was detained or for how long.

wasnt there 2 separate instances of that?

i feel like one dude came back but another died there and came back here with all kinds of parasites or something

Oh noes everyone in Russia should be all 'ZOMG the Americant's are hiding in our kitchen cupboards and under our beds!'.

Trump went pretty hard a while back to get some dude back from North Korea. i dont remember why that dude was detained or for how long. wasnt there 2 separate instances of that? i feel like one dude came back but another died there and came back here with all kinds of parasites or something

a reply to: TinySickTears

The kid that died was OTTO Warmbier and he died on Obamas watch.

I think the one with the parasites was a soldier that defected .

All Trump has done is get 3 Americans released and all those soldiers remains back.

Oh yeah and got them to stop testing nukes AND missiles .

a reply to: TinySickTears

He was deep into conspiracy theories and set out to dig into Russian spy world.

So would the family say, yeah he was a spy and his code name was.....

I want to see an j terciew where they people say, yeah, he did it...

a reply to: notsure1

ok calm down

this was not a knock against trump so you dont have to go into full trump is awesome mode

does this kind of thing happen a lot and is this something the president would get involved in?

Real spies never get caught. They're all already on the inside.

a reply to: TinySickTears

This is Russia letting the US know it is not impressed by Mueller's indictments against innocent Russians.

Unless of course, he is a spy. That is also possible. Weddings are great covers and who's wedding was it?

P

Well i don't blame Russia for doing this.
Tit for tat.
After all America did arrest an innocent Russian person that is no hacker. If a president and his government that person is no hacker you should probably believe it rather then trying on torturing that person to get a forcible convection.

When you go to a foreign country, make sure there is nothing about a wedding involved in the reason for being there.

The guy was walking around in the Kremlin, I guess he went into a wrong room or asked the wrong questions. We do not really know if he was spying, but it could have been he was sticking his nose in the wrong places, curiosity can kill a cat.

You do not go poking around if a Russian got detained here in America recently.

a reply to: TinySickTears

He was probably just there to meddle in Russian elections

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

He was probably just there to buy a calendar. Around the world with Vladimir Putin.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Usually they don't have to push very hard. In most cases the spy is quietly returned to their country of origin. The fact that Russia are making a media spectacle out of this shows that this is all about sending a message.

Theory is that this guy was grabbed as a likely diplomatic trade for Maria Butina, who just happens to be a cooperating witness in the Mueller probe...
wonder how high up the arrangements were made?

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Calling a lot of attention to it anyway.
For future spectacle of a diplomatic trade.
Get Maria out of here... Now!

a reply to: rickymouse

You do not go poking around if a Russian got detained here in America recently

Unless you want to become a pawn.

a reply to: TinySickTears

Pompeo has already said they are looking into the details. Of course they are going to be involved. They want Maria sent home too.

a reply to: Sillyolme

Wishful thinking or propaganda?

Or both?

a reply to: pheonix358

Pretty sure its to get Maria Butina back. And Trump wanting her gone so she cant answer questions by Robert Mueller.
It is reported she has already been questioned by the grand jury.

a reply to: vinifalou

Not mine. I am telling what I have heard speculated. Of course no one knows at this time.
But in the past when Russia wanted someone back they would nab an american and charge them with espionage and then negotiate a trade.