Ex-Marine Paul Whelan is attacked in Russian prison by another inmate who 'punched him in the face and broke his glasses' - as his brother claims he's a 'target' because he's American

Former U.S. marine Paul Whelan has been attacked by another inmate who 'punched him in the face and broke his glasses' at a maximum-security jail in Russia. 

Whelan is currently serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges at the remote IK-17 camp in Mordovia, southeast of Moscow.

Whelan's brother Dave publicized the attack that occurred on November 18 - which was later confirmed by Russia's prison service.

Dave Whelan said: 'A new prisoner blocked part of the production line and Paul asked him to move out of the way. After repeated requests, the prisoner hit Paul in the face, breaking Paul's glasses in the process, and attempted to hit him a second time.

'Paul stood up to block the second hit and other prisoners intervened to prevent the prisoner continuing the attack on Paul.' 

The attack comes just weeks after Paul Whelan told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that failing to negotiate his release from Russian jail has 'basically signed a death warrant' for him. 

The 53-year-old political prisoner has been held at the concentration camp in west Russia for almost five years - while other US hostages have been freed.  

Whelan's ordeal began when he traveled to Moscow for a friend's wedding in 2018 and was arrested for espionage and sentenced to 16 years in jail following a closed trial - but he is recognized as 'wrongfully detained' by the US government. 

Dave Whelan said his brother was targeted because he was an American and anti-American sentiment was 'not uncommon among the other prisoners.' 

The Mordovia regional prison service confirmed to the Interfax news agency, a Russian outlet, that the attack on Whelan had happened and said guards had taken immediate action to stop 'the illegal actions.' 

Both men had been taken to the medical bay, where Whelan was found to have suffered an abrasion beneath one of his eyes, the prison service was cited as saying.

There was surveillance camera footage of the incident and the prison service was looking into it further before submitting a report to the police, Interfax reported.

It quoted an unnamed person 'familiar with the situation' as saying that Whelan had been struck by 'a convict from Turkey over political disagreements'.

In October Whelan expressed strong words to Blinken about the perils he faces as he grows older in the grueling labor camp.

'I told him point blank that leaving me here the first time painted a target on my back and leaving me here the second time basically signed a death warrant,' Whelan told CNN over the phone. 

He said he warned Blinken that 'unless they got me back, it could be quite challenging in the future, especially with my age and the sort of work we have to do from a health and safety point of view.'

Footage of Whelan was recently released by state-funded channel Russia Today, showing him interacting with other inmates at the maximum-security jail while wearing a prison-issue black cap and jumpsuit.

His family, who have not seen him since he was jailed in June 2020, said they were glad to see 'the fight remains in his eyes'. 

In his call with CNN, Whelan said he was still hopeful that work was being done to secure his release - but added that he didn't want to be forgotten amid 'other geopolitical issues'. 

Whelan said he wants to speak with President Joe Biden to 'find out if he will do what he's promised'. He recognized that the Kremlin considers him a 'high value' prisoner - so they 'want something high value in return'. 

The former Marine - who is also an Irish, British and Canadian citizen - praised Blinken's efforts to negotiate his release, describing him as 'a person who obviously cares and cares deeply about the situation'. 

'I think everyone's trying to do the right thing, and I know that this will come to an end at some point. How long it will take I don't know. But I'm being promised that I won't be left behind here,' he said.

The US Department of State said Blinken 'remains committed to bringing Paul home', describing his detention as 'outrageous'. 

'We offered Russia a serious proposal for Paul's release and will not stop working on his case until he is reunited with his family,' a spokesperson told DailyMail.com.