Paul Whelan Speaks Out From Russia After Brittney Griner Gets Released

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner, who was held for months in Russian prisons on drug charges, was released early Thursday morning after the United States and Russia came to a one-on-one prisoner swap deal for Viktor Bout, who is known as the “Merchant of Death” and quickly became one of the world’s most wanted men after he sold arms to warlords and rogue governments.

The prisoner exchange with Griner and Bout was “completed successfully at Abu Dhabi Airport” on Thursday, state media added and Griner is on a plane back home to the United States.

Although Griner was able to come home, Paul Whelan, another American who is currently in Russian prison, was not a part of the swap. President Joe Biden spoke out regarding the one-on-one prisoner swap deal, ensuring America he will continue working to bring Whelan back home.

Whelan is a former U.S. Marine was arrested at a Moscow hotel in December 2018. He was convicted in June 2020 to 16 months in prison, which the United States deemed as an "unfair trial."

Although Whelan is happy that the WNBA player was released, he is extremely frustrated that more has not been done to help his own release. “I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” he said in a phone call he made to CNN from where he is being held in Russia. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

The former U.S. Marine went on to say he was actually surprised that this decision was made as he was led to believe the exchange was going in a different direction.

“I was led to believe that things were moving in the right direction, and that the governments were negotiating and that something would happen fairly soon,” he continued to say.

Whelan claims that he was told “they’ve put me at a level higher than what they did with Trevor (Reed) and Brittney,” because the Russians have accused him of being a spy. “That raises a lot of concerns because none of it is true. And they’re trying to get out of United States, what the United States may not be able to provide, but this is basically political extortion,” he said.

The former U.S. Marine wishes he could speak to Biden himself, but in the meantime, he said he had a message for the President, expressing his hope that Biden and his administration “would do everything they could to get me home, regardless of the price they might have to pay at this point.”

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

David Whelan, Paul’s brother, spoke out about Griner’s release, writing to the New York Times, “There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed and for them to go home."

He continued, "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.”