Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he is ‘disappointed’ Biden administration has not done more to secure his release

WashingtonCNN — 

Detained American Paul Whelan told CNN he is “disappointed” the Biden administration has not done more to secure his release, meaning he’s been left behind in Russia after fellow detained American Brittney Griner was freed on Thursday.

“I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the fourth anniversary of my arrest is coming up. I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” he said in an exclusive phone call from the penal colony that is being held in a remote part of Russia. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

Whelan said he was happy that Griner was released but told CNN he “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.”

When asked if he was surprised not to have been included in the swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, he told CNN he was.

Whelan, a former marine who is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation. He was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial a US official denounced as unfair.

US officials have indicated that the Russians refused to release him despite US efforts at negotiations, and Whelan said he was told that because the Russians have accused him of being a spy, “they’ve put me at a level higher than what they did with Trevor (Reed) and Brittney.”

WNBA star Brittney Griner released from Russian detention in a prisoner swap for the convicted arms dealer

“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 political extortion,” he said.

He said he was aware that he was considered in a different category than Griner – “the Russians have always said so.”

“They’ve always considered me to be at a higher level than other criminals of my sort. For whatever reason, I’m treated differently than another individual from a Western country that’s also on a charge of espionage. So even though we’re both here for espionage, I’m treated much differently than he is, and my treatment is also much different than others held for espionage at other prisons,” Whelan said.