CNN —Paul Whelan, the American who spent five and a half years wrongfully detained in Russia, revealed Sunday that he had passed to Western officials information he received from fellow prisoners who were fighting for Russia on the frontlines in Ukraine.
“The prisoners from the camp that went to the frontline, they had communication.
Whelan added that he and others were able to communicate with former prisoners through “burner” phones that they could acquire even while at the Russian labor camp in Mordovia.
“Yeah, we had burner phones.”Whelan added that the guards “looked the other way” in exchange for goods such as cigarettes.
His camp was primarily made up of young men from central Asian countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, Whelan said.
Persons:
CNN — Paul Whelan, “, ” Whelan, Whelan, ”, Putin, CNN’s Jennifer Hansler
Organizations:
CNN, CBS, Wagner Group
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, Mordovia, “, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, United States, Germany