Biden administration recommits to Paul Whelan’s return four years after arrest
Mike Brest
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Biden administration officials recommitted their efforts to obtain Paul Whelan’s freedom on the four-year anniversary of his arrest in Russia.
Whelan, who was given a 16-year prison sentence in 2020 on a spurious espionage charge, was not included in two prisoner exchanges that President Joe Biden signed off on this year. The administration considers him wrongfully detained and has accused the Kremlin of using him as a bargaining chip.
FOUR YEARS LATER, BROTHER SPEAKS OUT ON PAUL WHELAN’S IMPRISONMENT IN RUSSIA
“Today marks four years of wrongful detention in Russia for American Paul Whelan and, as the President and I have told the Whelan family, we will not stop, we will not relent, we will not cease until all Americans can celebrate Paul’s return,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement. “Paul and the Whelan family recently showed the entire country the meaning of generosity of spirit in celebrating a fellow American’s return while Russia continues its deplorable treatment of Paul as a bargaining chip.”
The White House said last week that “there are active conversations” between the administration and its Russian counterparts surrounding Whelan’s freedom, while a State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that it will “continue to press for the immediate release of Paul Whelan at every opportunity.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement as well, saying, “Russian authorities subjected him to a secret trial and sentenced him to 16 years in a Russian penal colony based on secret evidence. His detention remains unacceptable, and we continue to press for his immediate release at every opportunity. I am committed to bringing home Paul and all U.S. hostages and wrongful detainees held around the world.”
Biden agreed to exchange convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for U.S. basketball superstar Brittney Griner earlier this month, whom the administration considered wrongfully detained after she was arrested and charged with bringing vape cartridges that contained minimal amounts of marijuana. Griner had been sentenced to nine years in prison and was in a penal colony at the time the deal was agreed upon.
The other prisoner exchange freed convicted Russian drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko for former Marine Trevor Reed in April.
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“It is both awful and mundane, just another day that Paul has to suffer in a Russian labor colony for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Another day that our parents have to suffer without being able to see or be with their son,” David Whelan, Paul’s brother, said in a statement. “It is both a culmination of lost life — four years of missed birthdays, Christmases, and other experiences — and also not an end point. It’s merely a marker of their suffering, not an indicator that the suffering will come to an end before another milestone, another year passes.”