Rare video shows American Paul Whelan inside Russian prison
U.S. efforts to free the jailed American remain at an impasse. Russian state media has released rare footage showing Paul Whelan inside a notorious prison camp, providing the first publicly available video images of the im prison ed American in more than three years. Broadcast on Monday, the recording shows Whelan, a Marine veteran, wearing a black uniform and hat among other inmates in what appear to be various areas within IK-17, a maximum-security penal colony in Mordovia -- a remote, wooded region of Russia. It was not clear when the video was taken but it comes amid continuing, high-level U.S. efforts to get him freed. In one scene, Whelan works at a sewing machine and speaks to a reporter, telling him "Sir, you understand when I say I can't do an interview, which means I can't answer any questions." Other shots show Whelan eating at a table and holding up what appears to be an identification card. American Paul Whelan, who is being held in Russian jail, is...