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A28 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 16 June 2020
American convicted of spying in Russia, gets 16 years

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Viktor Bout and Konstantin
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian Yaroshenko.
court convicted an Ameri- "There have been propos-
can corporate security ex- als of exchange, the issue
ecutive Monday of espio- is being discussed," he said.
nage and sentenced him Bout, a Russian arms trader,
to 16 years in prison after a is serving a 25-year sen-
closed trial that the U.S. de- tence in the U.S. for a 2011
nounced as a "mockery of conviction on charges he
justice," and it angrily said conspired to sell millions of
his treatment in jail was "ap- dollars of weapons to Co-
palling." lombian rebels. He insisted
Paul Whelan, a former Ma- he was a legitimate busi-
rine from Novi, Michigan, nessman.
has insisted he was inno- Yaroshenko, a Russian pi-
cent, saying he was set up lot, is serving a 20-year
when he was arrested in sentence for conspiracy to
Moscow in December 2018 smuggle cocaine into the
while he was visiting Russia U.S. after he was arrested
to attend a friend's wed- in Liberia in 2010 and extra-
ding. dited to the U.S.
"We have serious con- Russian officials and law-
cerns that Mr. Whelan was makers have cast the
deprived of the fair trial Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a convictions of Bout and
guarantees that Russia is courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 15, 2020. Yaroshenko as politically
required to provide him in Associated Press motivated and pushed for
accordance with its inter- their release.
national human rights ob- where he was being held. Speaking to reporters after Russian government. We Leonid Slutsky, the head of
ligations," U.S. Secretary of Pompeo said the U.S. was the verdict, U.S. Ambas- will have to continue to foreign affairs committee
State Mike Pompeo said in "outraged" by the verdict sador John Sullivan called treat it as a political case, in the Kremlin-controlled
a statement. and noted that Paul Whel- the trial "a mockery of jus- which is what it is, and seek lower house of parliament,
The 50-year-old Whelan, an's treatment "has been tice." Whelan's lawyer has a political solution for his rejected Pompeo's state-
who also holds British, Irish appalling," adding that au- said his client was handed freedom." ment as "meddling in Rus-
and Canadian citizenship, thorities ignored his medi- a flash drive that had clas- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry sia's judicial system." He
has publicly complained of cal condition and kept him sified information on it that Peskov rejected allegations said Moscow is open to dis-
poor prison conditions and isolated from family and he didn't know about. that Whelan was a politi- cuss Whelan's possible ex-
has said his life is in danger. friends. David Whelan described cal hostage, telling report- change for "Russian citizens
Two weeks ago, Whelan He called the proceedings the case as political and ers his guilt was proven at who have remained in the
underwent a hernia opera- "a secret trial, with secret voiced hope that the U.S. the trial. Peskov refused to U.S. prisons on unfounded
tion, which his twin brother, evidence and without ap- government will help gain comment on whether Rus- charges and in inhumane
David, described as "emer- propriate allowances for his freedom. sia could be eyeing his ex- conditions."
gency surgery ... which is defense witnesses." The "The Russian Federation change for some of its citi- "Political will is required
never a good sign." Moscow City Court, where wouldn't talk about releas- zens in the U.S. custody. for reaching such agree-
He said his brother had the trial took place, said it ing Paul until he was con- Whelan's Russian lawyer, ments," he said.
been allowed one phone was held behind closed victed," he told The Asso- Vladimir Zherebenkov, Yaroshenko's wife, Viktoria,
call in 18 months and had doors because authorities ciated Press. "And so, now pointed at Russian official also voiced hope that he
voiced concern about saw it as necessary for con- that that has happened, statements signaling a pos- could be exchanged for
coronavirus infections in sidering sensitive informa- we hope that the U.S. gov- sibility that Whelan could Whelan, the Interfax news
Moscow's Lefortovo prison, tion. ernment will speak to the be exchanged for Russians agency reported.q
Japan to scrap costly land-based U.S. missile defense system

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's De- would be too time consum- guchi in the south and an-
fense Ministry said Monday ing and costly. other at Akita in the north.
that it has decided to stop (asterisk)Considering the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
unpopular plans to deploy cost and time it would re- government will now have
two costly land-based U.S. quire, I had no choice but to reconsider Japan's mis-
missile defense systems judge that pursuing the sile defense program.
aimed at bolstering the plan is not logical," Kono The plan to deploy the two
country's capability against said. The Japanese gov- missile defense systems
threats from North Korea. ernment in 2017 approved already had faced a se-
Defense Minister Taro Kono adding the two missile de- ries of setbacks, including
told reporters that he de- fense systems to bolster questions about the se-
cided to "stop the deploy- the country's current de- lection of one of the sites,
ment process" of the Ae- fenses consisting of Aegis- repeated cost estimate
gis Ashore systems after it equipped destroyers at sea hikes that climbed to 450
was found that the safety and Patriot missiles on land. billion yen ($4.1 billion) for
of one of the two planned Defense officials have said their 30-year operation and
In this Jan. 10, 2020, file photo, Japanese Defense Minister Taro host communities could the two Aegis Ashore units maintenance, and safety
Kono speaks during a press conference at his ministry in Tokyo. not be ensured without a could cover Japan entirely concerns that led to local
Associated Press hardware redesign that from one station at Yama- opposition.q