Moscow, May 24 (Sputnik/UNI) The Lefortovsky District Court in Moscow ruled on Friday to extend the arrest of US citizen Paul Whelan, who is kept in Russian custody on espionage suspicions, until August 29, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the courtroom.
"To extend defendant Whelan's detention measure for three months, until August 29, 2019," judge Sergey Ryabtsev read out the court's decision.
Whelan, who is also a citizen of Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom, was arrested in Russia in December on charges of espionage. Whelan denies the charges and insists he came to Russia to attend a friend’s wedding.
If convicted, Whelan faces up to 20 years in prison. Russian officials have so far not released details with respect to the charges against Whelan.
