Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Friday, March 29th, 2024

Russia Reportedly Detains American over Suspected Spying

Russia Reportedly Detains American  over Suspected Spying

MOSCOW - An American citizen was arrested in Russia on Friday for alleged spying, Russia’s domestic security agency announced Monday, marking one of the country’s first overt tit-for-tat actions after several high-profile Russia-related indictments in the U.S.
Paul Whelan was taken into custody after allegedly being caught “during an act of espionage,” although Russia’s Federal Security Service, the country’s primary internal security arm, gave no further details about the alleged incident, the BBC reported.
The FSB, as the security service is also known, said Whelan faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted, TASS news agency reported.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News for comment.
The FSB, which conducts domestic intelligence and counterintelligence, was spun-off from the infamous KGB after the collapse of the Soviet Union. A former KGB agent, Vladimir Putin ran the FSB before ascending to the presidency.
Of all the agencies, the FSB looms largest in Russians’ minds because it hunts domestic threats. In October, a man entered a local branch of the FSB intelligence agency in Akhangelsk and detonated an improvised explosive device, killing the man and injuring three FSB officers. (Fox News)