The brother of the Paul Whelan, the former US marine arrested in Russia on espionage charges, believes his twin is being used as “a pawn in some larger scheme”, having found himself “in the wrong place at the wrong time”. The Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, dismissed suggestions that Whelan may be part of a prisoner swap. The US has so far taken the lead as his brother entered Russia on his US passport. “I think Paul is perhaps a pawn in some larger scheme,” David Whelan said. Paul Whelan speaks so little Russian that when US diplomats visited him on Wednesday he did not have his glasses, his brother said.

Source: The Guardian January 05, 2019 23:48 UTC