The sister of Paul Whelan, a US citizen who is wrongfully detained in Russia, on Thursday expressed frustration at her brother’s continued imprisonment in Russia and called on the White House to bring him home.
“Paul Whelan deserves better than he is getting for results. He has the White House attention to his case and now he needs the White House to get the job done,” Elizabeth Whelan said in a video posted to Facebook.
Paul Whelan, who also holds British, Irish and Canadian citizenships, has been detained in Russia for more than four years on espionage charges, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020.
Paul Whelan is now one of two Americans who have been designated as wrongfully detained by Russia following the arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in recent weeks.
David Whelan, his brother, said earlier this week that Paul expressed concern to their parents about being left behind again.
The US government was unable to secure his release last year when it brought home two other Americans who were wrongfully detained in Russia – Trevor Reed in April and Brittney Griner in December.
In her video, Elizabeth Whelan echoed those concerns, noting that her family has “repeatedly seen the US government talk about lines beyond which they will not go to bring Paul Whelan back to Michigan.”
“First it was trades. Then it was trades for certain people,” Elizabeth Whelan said, noting that such lines had been “erased” to bring Reed and Griner home.
US officials have said that Russia refused to negotiate a trade for Paul Whelan when they brought home Griner.
Elizabeth Whelan expressed frustration that it seemed “the US government will not act with speed until there is sufficient public pressure, at which time they give the Russians whatever they want, always accepting the Russian position that Paul Whelan can’t be part of the trade for some made-up Russian reason.”
“We need the White House to take charge and get the upper hand with the likes of the Kremlin,” Elizabeth Whelan said.
“As far as I can tell, there is no creative strategy to get Paul Whelan home,” she added.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the US has put forward a “serious proposal” to Moscow to secure Paul Whelan’s release, and US officials have said they are committed to bringing him home.
Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens told “CNN This Morning” on Wednesday that he had spoken with Paul Whelan on Monday for about 15 minutes, and they discussed Gershkovich’s case as well.
“His spirits are still good. He’s still remaining strong. He’s still resilient. A small known fact – I mean, he sings the National Anthem every day from his prison cell. And he’s ready to come home and we’re going to find a way to bring him home,” Carstens told CNN.
