Former Marine Paul Whelan, who marked his fifth Christmas in a Russian prison colony this year, has told President Biden to “get ready” and bring him home as soon as possible.
“Mr. President,” the 53-year-old told Washington, DC’s WTOP radio on Christmas Eve. “You promised to take me home. I’m still here. There must be more you can do to secure my release.”
“The concern I have,” continued Whelan, “is that diplomatic efforts have failed and not enough has been done to secure my release from the highest level.”
The holiday message follows a phone interview with the BBC last week in which Whelan told the UK broadcaster that “I can’t believe they’ve left me.”
“They’ve basically left me here,” he added at the time.
In December 2022, Biden signed a deal to secure the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner from a Russian prison in exchange for the release of arms dealer Viktor Bout, the so-called “Merchant of Death.” At the time, the White House insisted that Moscow did not want to free Whelan and promised to continue to work for his freedom.
Paul Whelan has spent the past five Christmases in a Russian prison. AFP via Getty Images
“Unfortunately, for completely illegitimate reasons, Russia treated Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s,” Biden said. “And even though we still haven’t succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we’re not giving up.”
That April, the administration agreed to another prisoner swap, freeing Russian drug-trafficking pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko in exchange for another former Marine, Trevor Reed.
In his message to WTOP, Whelan blasted Biden as “a man who made the decision to leave me twice.”
President Biden has vowed to do everything he can to bring Paul Whelan home. AFP via Getty Images
“My message to him is quite simple: I have been told that everyone is doing everything they can and my release is the priority,” he added. “A promise has been made, and I need everyone who has made that promise to now shape up and honor it.”
Whelan was arrested on December 28, 2018, and charged with espionage while in Moscow for a friend’s wedding. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020.
Both he and the US government have vigorously denied the Russian allegations.
Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia for almost nine months. AP
Whelan is currently being held in a labor camp in Russia’s Republic of Mordovia, about 350 miles east of Moscow. Last month, he was attacked and injured by an inmate.
The inmate claimed to WTOP that the labor camp’s deputy warden held a grudge against him after Whelan refused to pay “$1,100 in protection money.”
“He was provoked to try to get me hurt in retaliation because he was in trouble,” Whelan claimed.
The US is also trying to secure the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, who was arrested last March in the city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges denied by him and the government.
In a statement to WTOP, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said: “There is no higher priority for President Biden than to bring home Americans who are still wrongfully held and held hostage abroad, including Paul Whelan. The President’s commitment to the wrongful detention of Americans and hostages has led to the safe return of dozens of Americans to their loved ones, including in situations that had long seemed hopeless and that required difficult and controversial decisions.
“In the case of Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, we have made and will continue to make significant offers to them, including one earlier this month,” Watson added. “We are also continuing our conversations with third-party countries as we work to find a way to secure their release.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
