In April, Whelan's lawyer Vladimir Zherebenkov said that the court had allowed his client to call his parents twice a month. The Russian Foreign Ministry later confirmed the permission.
Whelan, who is also a citizen of Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, was arrested in Russia in December 2018 on charges of espionage. If convicted, he may face 10 to 20 years in prison.
Whelan denies the charges and insists that he came to Russia for a friend’s wedding. Court papers have revealed that he has frequented Russia since 2007.