In Russia, former U.S. marine Paul Whelan was sentenced Monday to 16 years of hard labor after being convicted of espionage. Whelan was arrested in Moscow last year after reportedly being given a flash drive containing classified information while visiting Russia for a wedding. Whelan has denied all charges and says he was framed. Some have speculated his arrest was retaliation for the arrest of Russian gun rights activist Maria Butina, who in 2018 pleaded guilty to conspiring to act as a Russian agent without registering with the Justice Department.
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