Jailed former Marine’s lawyers say Russian court will consider transfer to US

A jailed former Marine’s lawyers are saying a Russian court will consider transferring him to the U.S. to serve out the rest of his prison time.

Lawyers for Paul Whelan, Olga Karlova and Vladimir Zherebenkov, told Interfax news agency on Wednesday that a court hearing for the Marine’s transfer will take place on Sept. 27, according to Reuters.

One of the lawyers later told TASS news agency the court hearing was postponed with the new date still unknown. 

Whelan was arrested in 2018 after he reportedly was handed a flash drive with sensitive information at a wedding without his knowledge, causing him to be charged with espionage and landing him a prison sentence of 16 years.

Whelan said the flash drive was given to him by a Russian friend who he believed put holiday photos on the drive.

News of the potential transfer comes a month after Whelan was released from solitary confinement for “having food in his bag” after returning to prison from a medical facility. 

Whelan said previously he hoped to be freed from a prison swap, with President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing Whelan and another jailed Marine, Trevor Reed, during their summit, according to Reuters.