Paul Whelan arrest: UK urged to 'keep an eye' on spy suspect held in Russia
The family of the dual British-US national are focusing on securing his release and making his stay as "least-awful as possible".
Sunday 6 January 2019 14:44, UK
The brother of a former US marine detained in Russia on suspicion of spying has urged the British government to "keep an eye on him".
Paul Whelan, a 48-year-old who has UK citizenship, was arrested in Moscow last week accused of receiving a computer memory stick containing a list of secret Russian agents.
It was speculated he could be used in exchange for the release of Russian Maria Butina, who is being held in the US after admitting acting as a secret agent for the Kremlin.
Mr Whelan's arrest prompted Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to warn Moscow not to use Britons as diplomatic pawns.
Mr Hunt said the UK is giving Mr Whelan "every support we can" and said the Kremlin should not use people as pieces in "diplomatic chess games".
This possibility was also raised by Mr Whelan's twin brother, David, who said: "You look at what's going on and you wonder if this is just a large game of pieces being moved around."
He added: "In the short-term the thing we would appreciate most from the UK government and are certain that it's going to happen - we're not questioning any will on their part after Mr Hunt's statement - is that they will keep an eye on Paul and assist the US... to maintain him in good health until we can get him home."
Mr Whelan is the subject of an investigation by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) over espionage charges, which carry punishment of up to 20 years in prison.
"I don't think anybody has rose-coloured glasses about this," his brother added.
"We've heard a variety of timelines and I think we're all looking at months for certain and perhaps even a couple of years, and we're not thinking it's necessarily going to be a short-term stay, but we are certainly hoping it will be as short as possible."
He said his brother's arrest appeared to be "very arbitrary", and that while he liked to travel and "interact with the people in the places that he goes," he would be too "conspicuous" to be a spy.
The family was focusing on getting him out and making his stay as "least-awful as possible", he added.
Meanwhile, Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said it is too early to talk of "the possibility of exchanges" as Mr Whelan is yet to be formally charged, according to the country's news agencies.
Mr Whelan was in Moscow helping to plan the wedding of another former marine when he was arrested in late December.
His detention comes amid strained diplomatic tensions between the UK and Russia in the wake of the nerve agent poisonings in Salisbury last year, which claimed the life of 44-year-old Dawn Sturgess.