Former US Marine in Russian Jail Says He Is More Mr Bean Than James Bond

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, has been incarcerated in Russia since Dec. 28, 2018, on espionage charges compared his situation as that of Mr. Bean rather than James Bond. He appeared in court Thursday in efforts to declare his innocence and gain a step closer to freedom.

Although his appearance was brief, Whelan took this opportunity to plead his innocence with reporters in efforts to gain the necessary resources to be saved from the abuse he is allegedly facing in jail.

At the time of Whelan’s arrest, he was in Moscow attending a wedding of a fellow Marine to a Russian woman. According to Russian officials, Whelan was caught with a flash drive suspected of containing state secrets. However, he said he believed that the flash drive contained various vacation photos.

Whelan reflected on the horrific situation, saying “Russia thought they caught James Bond on a spy mission, in reality they abducted Mr. Bean on holiday.” According to Whelan, he is being framed and considers the case against him as a “hostage situation.”

According to Whelan’s lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov, the former Marine was facing abuse inside the prison. Whelan has described instances of being roughed up by a guard earlier this month after he was told not to run or sing in the prison yard, although those activities are not banned. The House of Representatives has passed a resolution calling for Whelan’s release.

Whelan requested that the prosecutor and judge be immediately pulled from his case due to ignoring his constant complaints of being assaulted by the prison guards. However, the judge denied the requests. Instead, Whelan will remain in pretrial lock up until Dec. 29.

Although Whelan has a Canadian, Irish, and British citizenship, he is from Michigan. He served as a Marine, but was dismissed due to bad conduct.

Whelan commented, “Evidence that I provided has been ignored … Questions of law are always decided in favor of the prosecutors and the FSB (security service).”

Considering the large volume of details and evidence in the case, the trial is expected to begin only in April or May. The former marines faces up to 20 year in prison if convicted.