Ex-Marine ‘begging for his life’ after 5 years in Russian prison. Who is Paul Whelan?

Paul Whelan, a former Marine, has now spent half a decade detained under false charges in Russia, where he has been confined in a penal colony under difficult conditions, U.S. officials said.

“December 28 marks five years since Russian authorities wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Whelan, 52, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and accused of committing espionage by Russian officials, a charge the U.S. government and Whelan’s family have vehemently denied.

“It’s a hard way to live your life,” David Whelan, Paul’s twin brother, told McClatchy News. “The longer this goes on obviously the more corrosive it’s going to become…”

“It’s unbelievable to me that I’ve been here five years, that we’ve had two governments that haven’t been able to get me out of here,” Paul Whelan told CNN in the lead-up to his half-decade anniversary of detainment.

Who is Paul Whelan?

Born to British parents in Canada, Whelan grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, according to a website set up by his family dedicated towards securing his freedom.

After working for multiple police departments in the Great Lake State and as an IT consultant, Whelan enlisted with the U.S. Marine Reserves. He was deployed to Iraq in 2004, serving on duty for two tours, his family said.

Whelan was discharged from the Marines in 2008 after he was convicted of attempting to steal $10,410, CNN reported in 2019, citing military court documents.

In 2017, he was hired as a global security director by Borg Warner, an automotive parts supplier, where he traveled the globe, visiting various plants.

“Paul has always enjoyed travel, and often augments work trips with a few vacation days to visit certain sites or explore neighboring countries,” his family said.

He traveled to Moscow on December 22, 2018, to attend a friend’s wedding. Eight days later, after not showing up at the wedding, he disappeared, his family said.

Days later, his family learned he had been detained by the FSB, Russia’s security service, on a charge of espionage. Russian officials have not disclosed any evidence that Whelan was acting as a spy, his family said.

Before he was arrested, Whelan was handed a flash drive that held Russian “state secrets,” though he was unaware of the contents, his attorney, Vladimir Zherebenkov, told Russian news outlets in 2019, according to an Associated Press story published in the Detroit Free Press.

“No one really knows what’s on that USB stick, and the Russian government never had to be upfront or say what was on it,” David Whelan said.

During a secret trial in June 2020, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison, AP reported.

Efforts to secure his release

Over the ensuing years, efforts to secure Whelan’s release have failed, while other detained Americans have been freed.

Former President Donald Trump said he turned down a deal to free Whelan in an exchange, which he said would have included the release of a Russian labeled a “Merchant of Death.”

President Joe Biden’s Administration has said it is committed to freeing Whelan, whose imprisonment is “unacceptable,” Blinken said in 2022.

Two prisoner exchange deals were negotiated between Russian and U.S. officials in 2022, neither of which included Whelan.

In April 2022, Trevor Reed, also a Marine veteran, was swapped for Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian drug trafficker imprisoned in the United States, according to the Associated Press.

WNBA player Brittney Griner was exchanged for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, in December 2022, per the outlet.

The Biden Administration, though, has said it has not forgotten Whelan and remains committed to ensuring he is freed.

“Not a day goes by without intensive U.S. Government efforts to bring Paul home,” Blinken said. “We will not rest until he is safely back with his family where he belongs.”

Over the past year, Whelan has been assaulted by other prisoners and has faced harassment from members of Russia’ state media, Blinken said.

“I think he really now can’t be certain from a physical security standpoint that he’s going to be left alone,” David Whelan said.

Whelan’s family, which has lobbied the government to secure Whelan’s release, is not optimistic about the chances of seeing him freed in the near future.

“I haven’t seen anything that gives me hope that we’re any closer to getting Paul freed,” David Whelan said. “The U.S. government is really at a point where they don’t seem to have any concessions within their own control that the Kremlin wants and it’s not clear why.”

“It is hard to have to listen to Paul begging for his life...” David Whelan said in a statement.

Another American citizen, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, also remains wrongfully held behind bars in Russia, according to U.S. officials.

Will gas prices spike in US as cargo ships are attacked in Mideast? Experts weigh in

As Ukraine president visits Washington, where does American public stand on more aid?

Trump barred from Colorado ballot by court — but do voters agree? What new poll shows