Paul Whelan holds an indication in protest as he awaits his verdict in Moscow in June 2020. He was sentenced to 16 years in jail on expenses of espionage.

Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP through Getty Images

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Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP through Getty Images

Paul Whelan holds an indication in protest as he awaits his verdict in Moscow in June 2020. He was sentenced to 16 years in jail on expenses of espionage.

Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP through Getty Images

As the Biden administration celebrates the homecoming of 1 outstanding American detained in Russia — basketball star Brittney Griner — it is pledging to proceed working to safe the discharge of one other who’s been there even longer.

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was detained in Moscow in 2018 on espionage expenses, discovered responsible in a closed trial and is now almost three years right into a 16-year prison sentence. He denies the accusations, and U.S. officers have denounced his trial as unfair.

At the top of November, 52-year-old Whelan was briefly transferred from a penal colony to a jail hospital. He spoke to his household final Friday, after a week of silence that had prompted concern within the White House over his whereabouts and situation.

“He is probably as well as you could be in a Russian labor camp,” his twin brother David told NPR in April. “They don’t provide nutritional meals, and they don’t really take too much care of the prisoners. There’s a lot of corruption and other abuse. So I think he does his best to stay out of people’s way.”

Speaking to CNN from a penal colony in distant Russia on Thursday, Whelan expressed shock that he wasn’t included within the prisoner swap and frustration that the Biden administration has not carried out extra to safe his launch.

“I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” he mentioned. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

President Biden mentioned Thursday that “sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s.” Whelan instructed CNN that he had been instructed that as a result of Russia accused him of being a spy, it had put him “at a level higher” than Griner and Trevor Reed, who was released in April.

Senior administration officers instructed reporters on a convention name Thursday that Griner’s launch was secured after months of talks and quite a lot of proposals that had additionally aimed to free Whelan — which Russia had refused.

“This was not a situation where we had a choice of which American to bring home,” one official mentioned on the decision. “It was a choice between bringing home one particular American – Brittney Griner – or bringing home none.”

Biden confused that efforts to safe Whelan’s launch are ongoing, and mentioned his administration is in shut contact with Whelan’s household (the U.S. official mentioned Biden intends to talk with them too).

“My thoughts and prayers are with them today, they have to have such mixed emotions today,” Biden mentioned. “And we’ll keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release, I guarantee that … I urge Russia to do the same, to ensure Paul’s health and humane treatment are maintained until we are able to bring him home.”

Griner’s launch is bittersweet for Whelan’s household

Thursday’s information is each a supply of celebration and disappointment for Whelan’s household.

They said in a statement that U.S. officers had allow them to know a day upfront that Whelan could be “left behind” within the prisoner swap, including that was not the case in April, when 30-year-old former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed was released in trade for jailed pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko.

“That early warning meant that our family has been able to mentally prepare for what is now a public disappointment for us,” David Whelan instructed the Detroit News. “And a catastrophe for Paul. I do not know if he is aware yet, although he will surely learn from Russian media. Our parents have had calls with him every day since his return to IK-17 on December 2d, and they will surely speak to him soon.”

U.S. officers instructed Whelan straight about Griner’s launch. Still, Whelan instructed CNN he wish to converse with Biden straight.

“I would say that if a message could go to President Biden, that this is a precarious situation that needs to be resolved quickly,” Whelan mentioned. “My bags are packed. I’m ready to go home. I just need an airplane to come and get me.”

Despite the frustration, Whelan’s brother mentioned he’s glad for Griner and her family members, including that “there is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home.”

“As the family member of a Russian hostage, I can literally only imagine the joy she will have, being reunited with her loved ones, and in time for the holidays,” he wrote. “The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen.”

Griner’s launch has renewed consideration on Whelan’s plight, prompting criticism from some Republicans over his exclusion and calls from some politicians, civil rights teams, the WNBA and different advocates to deliver Whelan — and different Americans detained overseas — dwelling secure.

Jonathan Franks, a spokesperson for the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, mentioned in a press release that whereas “we celebrate Brittney’s homecoming, our hearts break for the Whelan family.”

“Paul Whelan has been let down and left behind at least three times by 2 Presidents,” he added. “He deserves better from his government, and our Campaign implores President Biden to urgently secure Paul’s immediate return using all tools available.”