MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has convicted American corporate security executive Paul Whelan of espionage.
He was sentenced him to 16 years in prison Monday after a closed trial that the U.S. denounced as a "mockery of justice."
Whelan, a former Marine from Novi, Michigan, has insisted he was innocent, saying his 2018 arrest in Moscow was a setup.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington had "serious concerns that Mr. Whelan was deprived of the fair trial guarantees that Russia is required to provide him in accordance with its international human rights obligations."
The 50-year-old Whelan has complained of poor prison conditions.
His twin brother, David, said Whelan underwent an emergency hernia operation.
Pompeo called his treatment "appalling."
