Former US marine Paul Whelan will not appeal against his 16-year jail sentence for spying in Russia, his lawyer says.
Olga Karlova told the BBC he thought doing so would be “pointless” and would rather focus his hope on a possible but unconfirmed prisoner swap with the US.
Whelan, 50, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 with a USB drive which security officers say contained state secrets.
He insists he was set up.
On 15 June, a Moscow City Court found him guilty of receiving classified information.
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His legal team said at the time that he would appeal – a process that typically takes one to three months.
