Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was allegedly attacked by another inmate in a Russian prison labor camp on Tuesday. He has been serving a 16-year prison sentence on espionage charges in Mordovia since 2020, allegations that Whelan strongly denies.
According to audio obtained by CNN, Whelan said he “was assaulted by a Turkish prisoner, 50 years old, who has recently arrived at the prison and has anti-American leanings.”
Whelan, who suffered an abrasion beneath one of his eyes per a reported account from Russian authorities, claimed that the Turkish inmate attacked him with a closed fist and attempted to hit him again before other inmates intervened.