The family of Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia, said Wednesday that he had been attacked by a fellow prisoner in the labor camp where he has been serving a 16-year sentence on what the United States says are fabricated charges of espionage. Mr. Whelan told his family in a phone call that he had been working on a production line at the prison on Tuesday when another prisoner hit him in the face, according to a statement from David Whelan, Paul’s brother. The assailant then tried to hit him again, he told his family, but he “stood up to block the second hit,” and other prisoners helped intervene. Mr. Whelan described the attack as “relatively minor,” the statement said, but was afraid that such attacks could occur at any time and escalate into more serious ones, given “various sharp implements” available in the prison workshops. “Paul is a target because he is an American, and anti-American sentiment is not uncommon among the other prisoners,” the family’s statement said.

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Persons: Paul Whelan, Whelan, David Whelan, Paul’s, “, “ Paul Locations: Russia, United States, American