Posted 12/21/2023, 3:15:44 PM
Jailed Ex-Marine Whelan Feels Abandoned by U.S. After Two Prisoner Swaps Without Him
- Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed in Russia for 5 years, says he feels "abandoned" by the U.S. as two prisoner swaps have occurred without including him
- Whelan was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison, though his family and the U.S. government maintain his innocence
- Russia wanted to trade Whelan for arms dealer Viktor Bout during Trump's presidency but a deal wasn't made; Bout was later swapped for Brittney Griner
- Trevor Reed, another American jailed in Russia, was released in a prisoner exchange in May 2022
- The Biden administration proposed swapping Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, also jailed in Russia, for Russian nationals detained abroad