Russian court extends detention of ex-US marine Whelan on spying charges

A court in Moscow on Friday ruled to extend by three months the detention of former US marine Paul Whelan who is being held on suspicion of spying, RIA Novosti reported. Whelan holds US, British, Canadian and Irish passports. He was detained in a Moscow hotel room on December 28 and is accused of espionage, a charge that he denies. The court ordered Whelan be held in pre-trial detention until May 28, extending an earlier ruling to keep him in custody until February 28. On February 21, a representative of the US Embassy in Russia’s consular department visited Whelan, the embassy tweeted on Friday.