The United States Marine Corps veteran currently imprisoned in Russia criticized the Biden administration for failing to secure his release in two new interviews.
Paul Whelan said President Joe Biden’s government has “left me behind” while securing the release of other Americans.
“A serious betrayal. It's extremely frustrating,” Whelan said during a phone interview with the BBC. “I know the US have all sorts of proposals, but it's not what the Russians want. So they go back and forth, like throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks.”
“The problem is, it's my life that's draining away while they do this,” he said. Whelan is also a citizen of the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. Each country has sent ambassadors to visit him in Russia.
Whelan told CNN that he is afraid for his safety. In November, he was assaulted by another prisoner – a Turkish man who had recently arrived at the prison and who had anti-American sentiments. Whelan also says he is being targeted by a prison official at the remote prison camp in Mordovia who encouraged other prisoners to fight him and moved the 53-year-old to a more dangerous barracks.
“Most people carry knives here and many use stimulants which can make them wild and violent — a deadly combination where any sort of conflict exists, especially an incident provoked by the deputy warden,” he told the outlet. “The Russian government has to do more to ensure my safety here and right main threat is the (official).”
Whelan has been held in Russia for the last five years. He was arrested in 2018 and charged with espionage while in the country for a friend’s wedding. He was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum-security prison colony in 2020. Whelan and his family have repeatedly denied the spying allegation and say Russia is holding him for political influence.
In December of 2022, the Biden administration announced it had secured the release of Brittney Griner – ten months after she was arrested and four months after she was sentenced to nine years in prison for bringing cannabis into Russia. Biden commuted the sentence of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer known as the Merchant of Death, in exchange for the professional women’s basketball player's release. Bout had been in American custody for 12 years while serving a 25-year sentence.
U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carsten made an appearance on Good Morning America after traveling back to America with Griner and said the Biden Administration had not forgotten Whelan. Carsten made no mention of Pennsylvania history teacher Marc Fogel who was arrested in Russia in 2021 and is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence.
On Dec. 6, the White House announced that it was unable to secure the release of Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in March, after Russia rejected a “new and significant” proposal.
“We have pressed the importance of this case through a number of channels with the Russian government,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, during a press briefing, per CBS News. “We will continue to do so and we hope that we will be able to secure their release.”
