Alleged U.S. spy Whelan didn't know he was handed secret files: lawyer

Reuters

22 January 2019 at 6:12 am

Former U.S. marine Paul Whelan, who was detained by Russia's FSB security service on suspicion of spying, stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia January 22, 2019. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine charged by Russia with espionage, was detained moments after being handed a USB drive he believed contained cultural information but which turned out to contain secret files, his Russian lawyer said on Tuesday.

The lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, said Whelan did not have the opportunity to open the device to check the contents before he was detained.

(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Andrew Osborn)

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