OREANDA-NEWS. U.S. Ex-marine Paul Whelan has been sentenced to 16 years hard labour on spying charges in Russia. He was arrested in a hotel room in Moscow 18 months ago with a USB flash drive which security officers say contained state secrets.

The Moscow City Court found him guilty of receiving classified information.

Whelan — who is also a citizen of the UK, Canada and Ireland — has previously denied the charge and said he thought the drive contained holiday photos. He denounced the closed trial as a «sham» ahead of the verdict.

The 50-year-old Whelan was arrested in December 2018. He has maintained his innocence, saying he was framed and comparing himself to the hapless comedy character Mr. Bean. «Russia thought they caught James Bond on a spy mission, in reality they abducted Mr. Bean on holiday,» he said.

The prosecution has asked the judge to sentence Whelan to 18 years in a strict-regime penal colony, just short of the 20 years maximum term for the charge. The trial comes during an exceptional chill in U.S. and Russia relations and has further exacerbated tensions.

The media reported that after his dismissal Whelan worked for BorgWarner, a company producing auto parts, and visited Russia several times. The case against Whelan is classified as «secret».