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A10 WORLD NEWS
Monday 7 January 2019

Brother questions why American man being held by Russia

By JIM HEINTZ only as an American. His there, he does go and vis-
BRIDGET VIRGO concurrent Canadian, Brit- it,” David Whelan said.
Associated Press ish and Irish citizenships be- Paul Whelan established
MOSCOW (AP) — The broth- came known on Friday. an account on VKontakte,
er of an American man U.S. Ambassador Jon a social media service simi-
being held in Moscow on Huntsman Jr. visited Whel- lar to Facebook that is pop-
suspicion of spying is raising an on Wednesday in Mos- ular among Russians, which
the possibility that his sibling cow’s Lefortovo Prison, a showed he had scores of
is being used as a pawn in 130-year-old facility noted contacts in Russia. Many
a potential exchange for for strict conditions. Britain, attended universities affili-
a Russian woman behind Canada and Ireland have ated with the military, civil
bars in the U.S. applied for consular ac- aviation or technical stud-
Paul Whelan’s brother told cess to him. ies. Many share his interest
The Associated Press that Whelan, 48, was dis- in sports and firearms.
he can’t help but question This undated file photo provided by the Whelan family shows charged from the Marines Also Saturday, the Foreign
if the events are connect- Paul Whelan in Iceland. for bad conduct. He works Ministry said it was seeking
ed. Associated Press as the global security direc- information about a Rus-
“You look at what’s going zenship, was detained in changes of one sort of an- tor for a U.S. automobile sian who was arrested Dec.
on and you wonder if this is Moscow in late December. other, it’s impossible and parts manufacturer and 29 in Saipan in the North-
just a large game of piec- His arrest has led to specu- incorrect to consider the lives in Michigan. His family ern Mariana Islands, a U.S.
es being moved around,” lation that Russia could be question now when an of- has said he was in Moscow commonwealth in the Pa-
David Whelan told the AP using him to bargain for a ficial charge hasn’t even to attend a wedding. cific. The ministry said Ser-
via Skype from Newmar- Russian woman who has been presented,” Ryabkov His brother, David, told the gei Makarenko was sent to
ket, Ontario. “You start to pleaded guilty to acting as was quoted as saying by AP that Whelan loves to Florida after his arrest and
wonder if all of these things a foreign agent in the U.S. state news agency RIA- travel and likes to “inter- it wants consular access to
are connected. But at the But Russian Deputy Foreign Novosti. act with the people in the him.
same time, they could just Minister Sergei Ryabkov “Charges will be presented places that he goes,” but The Saipan Tribune report-
be arbitrary events.” said Saturday that discuss- in the near future,” he said, that Whelan would be too ed that Makarenko was in-
Asked about the matter ing a possible swap involv- according to the Interfax “conspicuous” to be se- dicted in 2017 in Florida for
by reporters at the White ing Whelan and Maria Bu- agency. lected as a spy. the alleged illegal shipment
House on Sunday, Presi- tina would be premature Some Russian news reports David Whelan said his fam- of military goods to Russia.
dent Donald Trump said: because Whelan hasn’t earlier cited unnamed ily had had no direct con- Konstantin Kosachev, head
“We’re looking into that.” been formally charged, sources as saying Whelan tact with Paul and had re- of the international affairs
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. according to Russian news had been indicted on espi- ceived no details about the committee of the upper
Marine who also holds Ca- agencies. onage charges that carry alleged espionage charg- house of the Russian par-
nadian, British and Irish citi- “As to the possibility of ex- a possible prison sentence es from either the Russian liament, said Makarenko’s
of 20 years. or U.S. governments. arrest was “the latest at-
Russian officials haven’t “He likes to go places and tack on a citizen of Russia
given details of Whelan’s Russia happens to be a outside the framework of
suspected activities and place where he knows international law,” Interfax
he was initially identified people and when he’s reported.q

Poland shuts down 13 escape game

sites due to safety flaws

Players in escape room
games are locked inside a
room or building and must
solve puzzles and find clues
that lead them to the key
that will unlock the door.
Regarded as an intellec-
tual challenge, the games
are highly popular among
teenagers in Poland.
Fire chief Leszek Suski said
the escape room at a pri-
vate house in the city of Ko-
Forensic and other police experts examine the site of a fire in an szalin, where the 15-year-
Escape Room, in Koszalin, northern Poland, on Saturday, Jan. 5, old girls died Friday locked
2019. inside a room celebrating a
Associated Press birthday, had no emergen-
By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA flaws and the prime minis- cy evacuation route. They
Associated Press ter asked people Sunday were the first known deaths
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — to report such lapses to in an escape room, a form
Polish officials have shut firefighters and police af- of entertainment that has
down 13 escape room en- ter five teenage girls were been growing in Poland
tertainment sites for safety killed in a fire. over the past five years. q