Paul Whelan Russia Update

Paul Whelan, a US citizen and former Marine, was detained at a Moscow hotel on December 28, 2018, and arrested on espionage charges, which he has consistently and vehemently denied.

He was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial denounced by US officials as unfair.

Paul has already spent 3 and a quarter years as a Russian hostage. Unfortunately, time is not on Paul’s side.

The Biden Administration has engaged in far greater outreach with the families of other hostages.

Following Trevor Reed’s release, Paul still remains hostage in the Russian cell.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has only made Paul Whelan’s family more concerned.

Although Paul Whelan is nowhere near the war in Ukraine, his twin brother, David Whelan, is still worried about how Russia’s backlash may impact his brother’s wellbeing.

“At this point, I think we still have some hope that, despite the illegal invasion of Ukraine, there may in fact need to be some small areas where the U.S. and Russian Federation can continue to have some agreement in order for them to continue to have any sort of diplomatic relationship,” David said.