Four years later, brother speaks out on Paul Whelan's imprisonment in Russia

Mike Brest

December 28, 06:30 AM December 28, 06:31 AM

Wednesday marks four years since former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service and charged with espionage.

Whelan, who had been in Russia for a wedding, was caught by the FSB “while on a spy mission,” the agency’s public relations center said in a statement at the time, though he and the U.S. government refuted the claims. The Biden administration continues to consider Whelan "wrongfully detained" while engaging in negotiations with the Kremlin to bring him home.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS WHELAN'S ESPIONAGE CHARGE COMPLICATES HIS RELEASE

"Milestones are always hard," his brother David Whelan told the Washington Examiner in a statement. "Four birthdays, four Christmases, and now the 4th anniversary of Paul's wrongful detention. I think we share the same concern as every family in this situation, which is that, with each passing year, it will become harder to bring Paul home."

Paul Whelan, who was discharged from the Marines for bad conduct in 2008 after being convicted of charges related to larceny, was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison in June 2020.

"It has already become hard to combat compassion fatigue, to keep up Paul's morale and help him to survive as fewer people remember his plight, fewer people write to him, and he starts to worry about being forgotten," David Whelan continued. "We hope that Paul will be home before the next milestone that reminds him, and us, that, despite good intentions, these efforts can be fleeting. We will need to remember that there are months and possibly still years before he is free."

The White House said last week that "there are active conversations" ongoing between the administration and their Russian counterparts surrounding Whelan's freedom, though U.S. officials have also said that the Kremlin views him differently from other Americans the U.S. has sought to swap for due to the espionage charge.

A State Department spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that they “continue to press for the immediate release of Paul Whelan at every opportunity,” and that, “despite their best efforts, the Russian government has failed to negotiate in good faith on his case. Paul and his family continue to suffer the consequences of the Russian government’s decision to wrongfully detain U.S. citizens."

“Our efforts to bring Paul Whelan home will not cease until he is back home with his family where he belongs,” the spokesperson continued. “Using wrongful detention as a bargaining chip represents a threat to the safety of everyone traveling, working, and living abroad. The United States opposes this practice everywhere.”

President Joe Biden agreed to prisoner exchanges with the Kremlin this year, though Whelan was left out of both of them.

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 was subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison. The other prisoner exchange freed convicted Russian drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko for former Marine Trevor Reed in April.

Activists, athletes, and institutions pleaded with the Biden administration to get Griner home, raising awareness of not just her plight, but of the situation surrounding Whelan and other Americans across the globe wrongfully detained by foreign governments.

"We were fortunate that, in the wake of Brittney Griner's release, both she and the U.S. government spoke up in support of Paul," David Whelan explained. "Despite tomorrow's anniversary, we know people are aware of Paul's imprisonment and are doing what they can to help. Americans are writing to him, and the American government is working to secure his freedom."

While Whelan's situation has received additional media coverage given the Russian connection to Griner, there are roughly 60 Americans, according to various non-profits, who are being wrongfully detained globally, many of whom have been detained longer than him.

"Mark Swidan has been held in China for nearly 10 years, Kai Li for nearly seven," David Whelan said. "Siamak Namazi has been held in Iran for more than seven. Austin Tice has been missing for more than 10 years."

Brittney Griner's time in Russia shined light on wrongfully detained Americans

Mike Brest

December 27, 06:00 AM December 27, 06:00 AM

Brittney Griner was the most prominent American wrongfully detained abroad and the biggest success story for the Biden administration's efforts to secure their freedom in 2022, but not the only one.

Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens leads the State Department in its work to get Americans the government deems wrongfully detained back. U.S. officials don't say how many Americans fit that description, though nonprofit groups say the number is about 60 people. Carstens has overseen the return of more than a dozen this year alone, most recently the two-time Olympic basketball player who had been detained in Russia for 10 months and returned home.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION SAYS WHELAN'S ESPIONAGE CHARGE COMPLICATES HIS RELEASE

Griner and former Marine Trevor Reed were set free after President Joe Biden agreed to two separate prisoner exchanges with Russia. In December, the administration gave up convicted and notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout. In April, it was convicted drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko. The deals left behind fellow Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence on espionage charges that the Biden administration says are both bogus and the reason Russian officials are treating him differently than other detained Americans. Marc Fogel, a Pittsburgh-area teacher, is accused of bringing marijuana into the country, like Griner.

The administration, while celebrating Griner's return, reiterated its commitment to getting Whelan back. Carstens told Whelan as much in a recent conversation: Their work goes on, even as they celebrate Griner's return.

Meeting an American regaining their freedom is “humbling” for Carstens, he said during an interview on CNN, adding, “I’m very grateful that President Biden allows me a chance to do this job. It’s also a painful job. When you get a chance to shake someone’s hand, it’s one of the rare moments where you can celebrate a victory. But know this, even as we’re welcoming someone home, we still have work to do. As I’m shaking Brittney’s hand … my brain is already thinking about Paul Whelan, what we can do to get him back.”

The U.S. also secured the release of seven Americans who were wrongfully detained in Venezuela in early October. Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, and Jose Pereira, who are five of the Citgo oil executives who have been held since 2017, were released in the swap. So were Matthew Heath, a former U.S. Marine corporal from Tennessee, and Osman Khan. In exchange, the U.S. freed Franqui Flores and his cousin Efrain Campo, the nephews of President Nicolas Maduro’s wife. An earlier agreement freed Gustavo Cardenas and Jorge Fernandez, who were also detained in Venezuela, but former Green Berets Airan Berry and Luke Denman and Eyvin Hernandez and Jerrel Kenemore are still being detained there.

Weeks before that October deal, the U.S. got Navy veteran Mark Frerichs in a prisoner exchange with the Taliban for Bashir Noorzai. The Afghan leader had been imprisoned in the U.S. for smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin here and into Europe. This success hasn't carried over to other Middle Eastern countries. Austin Tice, a journalist, was kidnapped in Syria in 2012, and his whereabouts remain murky. Another three Americans, Emad Shargi, Siamak Namazi, and Morad Tahbaz, are currently wrongfully imprisoned in Iran.

"We are working on every unjustly detained American every single day, and irrespective of the relationship that we may have with the countries in question, irrespective of what’s going on more broadly with those countries, we’re working on these cases, including the cases that you cited," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a CBS interview when asked about the Americans detained in Iran. "And for me, it’s a number one priority to bring Americans anywhere who are being unjustly detained, to bring them home, to get them back with their families. I have a card that I keep in my pocket. I’ve got the names of those Americans on that card. I’m working it; we’re working it every day."

There are also three Americans wrongfully detained in China: Kai Li, Mark Swidan, and David Lin. Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed in the film Hotel Rwanda, is being wrongfully detained in Rwanda, according to the State Department.

Iran, China, Venezuela, Syria, and Russia account for roughly three-quarters of the current detention, according to a September report from the Foley Foundation. That organization is named after the late James Foley, a journalist who was murdered by the Islamic State after nearly two years in captivity. Iran has held at least four Americans wrongfully every year since 2007; China has held at least one U.S. national since 2002. The same is true of Venezuela since 2013 and Russia since 2017.

The number of Americans detained from 2012-22 was an average of 11 per year. This represents a 175% increase from the average of four from 2001-11, according to the report. Since 2012, the number of Americans detained each year has ranged from seven to 17. The duration that wrongfully detained Americans are held has also increased in recent years, with nearly half of the current hostages being held for more than five years.