Whelan, a former Marine arrested in December 2018, was sentenced Monday to 16 years of hard labour after being found guilty of receiving classified information.
“The United States is outraged by the decision of a Russian court today to convict US citizen Paul Whelan after a secret trial, with secret evidence, and without appropriate allowances for defense witnesses,” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
“We demand Paul Whelan’s immediate release,” he said.
Just days earlier, Pompeo had publicly called on Russia to release Whelan, who contends that he was on holiday in Russia when he was given a USB drive thinking it contained family photographs.
“The treatment of Paul Whelan at the hands of Russian authorities has been appalling,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo said Russian authorities “put his life at risk by ignoring his long-standing medical condition.”
Whelan’s conviction is another impediment in relations between the two powers, which are at odds over Ukraine, Syria, Libya, arms control, and a host of other issues.
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