Photo: WHELAN FAMILY/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Griner was released from Russian prisonin a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bouton Thursday. The Biden administration had originally offered a"substantial" dealto trade both Whelan, 52, and Griner, 32, for Bout earlier this year.
In an interview with CNN from aRussian penal colony, Whelan said that he wassurprised he was not includedin the trade and said he had been “led to believe that things were moving in the right direction” and that “something would happen fairly soon.”
“I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up,” Whelan told CNN. “I was arrested for a crime that never occurred. I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”
He added that despite this, he is happy for Griner to be able to return home.
PresidentJoe Bidensaid on Thursday his administration has not “forgotten about Paul Whelan,” and alluded that bargaining for Whelan’s release has been trickier.
“This was not a choice of which American to bring home,” Biden said in apress release. “Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken added in hisown statement, “While we celebrate Brittney’s release, Paul Whelan and his family continue to suffer needlessly. Despite our ceaseless efforts, the Russian Government has not yet been willing to bring a long overdue end to his wrongful detention.”
Biden noted that his administration would continue to keep in touch with Whelan’s family and negotiate for his release.
“It’s a great day for the families of the wrongfully detained and we feel wonderful for them, but we do worry about what’s in Paul’s future,” his brother David Whelan, said onCNN This Morning. “I think it’s become clear that the U.S. doesn’t have any concessions that the Russian government wants for Paul. So I’m not really sure what the future holds.”
Griner’s wifeCherellesaid in a press conference at the White House that she was relieved that Griner was coming home.
“So over the last nine months, you all have been so privy to one of the darkest moments of my life, and so today I am just standing here overwhelmed with emotions, but the most important emotion I have right now is just sincere gratitude for President Biden and his entire administration,” she said. “Today my family is whole.”
She also recognized the Whelan family’s continued concern, saying that she will continue advocating for “getting every American home, including Paul, whose family is in our hearts today.”
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Also on Thursday, American citizenSarah Krivanek— who recently completed herunexpectedly harsh sentencein a Russian penal colony — boarded a plane to fly home.
She told PEOPLEin a harrowing exclusive interviewthat her imprisonment subjected her to “Sodom and Gomorrah”-like conditions, explaining why it’s especially difficult for an American to endure time in Russia’s labor camps.
source: people.com
