Brittney Griner, an American basketball star who was jailed in Russia and released Thursday in exchange for a Russian arms dealer, shed light on the case of another American prisoner, Paul Whelan, know his age, wife and family
The former Marine was arrested in Moscow in 2018. But U.S. officials say they are still trying to get him released. However, they say he was not part of the talks for Thursday’s prisoner swap. Because the Russians are handling his case differently.
Who Is Marine Paul Whelan Jailed In Russia, His Age, Family, Wife, Russia Update Now In 2022, Twitter
Biden gave up a Russian arms dealer in exchange for an anti-American WNBA player, while leaving US Marine Paul Whelan to rot in a Russian prison. This is an abomination. Our country is run by incompetent scumbags.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) December 8, 2022
Meet Brittney Griner & Marine Paul Whelan.
Both Americans.
Both were convicted in Russian courts on dubious charges.
Both serving multi-year sentences in Russian prison.
Brittney hates America
Paul served AmericaGuess which one Biden traded a terrorist to free?
Semper fi Paul pic.twitter.com/tuP1R6AZpf
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) December 8, 2022
Paul Whelan, who is 52 years old and used to be a Marine but now works in corporate security, was found guilty of spying and is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison.
Whelan was a citizen of four countries: the U.S., Canada, Britain, and Ireland. He used to work as a sheriff’s deputy and served in Iraq as an active-duty reservist for several tours. According to military and court records, he was kicked out of the Marines in 2008 for bad behaviour after being found guilty of theft charges.
He then worked for more than a decade as a security expert for a business. At the time he was arrested, he was the director of corporate security at BorgWarner. While his parents are in the 80s, their names are not known. He has a twin brother but there is no information on his married life.
Why Is Paul Whelan Jailed In Russia?
Whelan was found guilty of espionage in June 2020 and sentenced to 16 years of hard labour in a Russian prison. He said that the trial was politically motivated and made things worse between the US and Russia.
Vladimir Zherebenkov, his lawyer, said that his client got a flash drive with “state secrets” on it when he went to Russia for a wedding in 2018. Sergei Lavrov, who is Russia’s foreign minister, said that Whelan was caught “red-handed” while he was on a spy mission.
Whelan was arrested on December 28, 2018, in a hotel in Moscow. He said that he thought the flash drive he got from a friend had holiday photos on it. Whelan, his family, and the U.S. government have all said over and over that the charges against him are false and that he was set up.
The day the verdict was announced, Whelan said he thought it was a given. He shouted from a glass-enclosed area of the courtroom that Russia “feels powerless in the world, so they’re taking political hostages.”
Why Wasn’t Paul Whelan Released With Griner This Thursday?
After hearing that Griner was freed on Thursday, U.S. officials said they were sorry they hadn’t been able to free Whelan. They said that they would keep trying.
President Biden said on Thursday that these efforts have failed so far because Russia has decided to treat Whelan’s case “differently” because of the espionage charges against him. Biden said that these espionage claims were “completely false.”
Biden said that his government has “not forgotten about Paul Whelan”. He has promised to “keep negotiating in good faith for his release.”
Paul Whelan Is Disappointed With US Government
Whelan said on Thursday that he is “very disappointed” that the government hasn’t done more to get him out of jail, especially since it’s been four years since he was arrested. “I was arrested for a crime that didn’t happen,” he told CNN over the phone from the remote Russian prison colony where he is being held.
Paul’s brother, David Whelan was told by U.S. officials that he wouldn’t be part of the exchange. He also said he didn’t think it was likely that his brother would be set free.
“It’s clear that the U.S. government doesn’t have any deals for Paul Whelan that the Russian government will accept. So Paul will stay in jail until that changes,” he said as he cheered Griner’s freedom.
Whelan’s Russian lawyers were also upset that their client wasn’t part of the swap. There were rumours that the U.S. government was trying to trade Bout for the freedom of Griner and Whelan.
Thursday, a national security official said that Whelan was never really an option for the Russians. And that because of the espionage charges against him, the Russians turned down every offer made by U.S. officials.
Paul Whelan Has Been Left Out Before As Well
This is the second time that Whelan has been left out of a prisoner swap. Earlier Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot who was convicted of drug smuggling and sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. prison, was traded for Trevor Reed, an American who had been detained in 2019.
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