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World News See other World News Articles Title: US Marine Veteran Imprisoned in Russia Warns That If Biden Doesn't Do Something, Moscow Will 'Keep Grabbing People' US Marine Veteran Imprisoned in Russia Warns That If Biden Doesn't Do Something, Moscow Will 'Keep Grabbing People' By Jake Smith June 22, 2024 at 8:25am Daily Caller News Foundation An imprisoned American in Russia urged the Biden administration to take decisive action to free him, CNN reported Saturday. Paul Whelan, a former American Marine, was arrested in Russia in 2018 on espionage charges that both he and the U.S. government deny are true. More than 2,000 days into his imprisonment, Whelan is reflecting on the incredible amount of time he has had to spend in jail and is asking the Biden administration to step up and pressure Moscow into releasing him, according to CNN. There should be decisive action taken, Whelan told CNN. The US needs to go out and do something fill up Guantanamo Bay with Russian officials, arrest Russian spies, do something that makes the Kremlin sit up and take notice and say, Okay, yeah, right, now its time that were gonna get Evan and Paul back and then we want back what youve got of ours, and well call it a day. Until decisive action is taken, until theres a strong response to this sort of behavior, theyll keep grabbing people like Trevor (Reed) and Brittney (Griner) and Evan and others, he told CNN. Whelan referenced Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was arrested in March 2023 on similar espionage charges; like Whelan, Gershkovichs charges have been identified as false by the U.S. government. Whelan is also referencing Brittney Griner, a WNBA basketball player who was imprisoned in Russia and released in 2022, and Trevor Reed, who was arrested in 2019 and subsequently released alongside Griner in a prisoner swap deal. People here dont say that theyre going to trial. They dont say theyre going to seek justice. They say theyre going to get a sentence, theyre going to be sentenced. And thats it. There is no criminal justice system here, Whelan told CNN. There is no judicial system. Its just a system that the government has operated for many years, putting people in prison for all sorts of dubious charges and dubious events. And in my case, thats 100% true, and Im sure in Evans case, its 100% true. But people go to trial here and theyre automatically guilty, and then theyre given a sentence, and thats it. Whelan previously criticized the Biden administration for failing to take action to secure his freedom, telling WTOP News in December that President Joe Biden promised to bring me home and that diplomatic efforts have failed. Despite being arrested before, Gershkovich, Griner and Reed, Whelan has served the longest imprisonment in Russia and has no current prospects for being freed. The State Department said recently that freeing Whelan is something that we are constantly working on and constantly pursuing. We put a substantial offer on the table to secure the release of Evan and Paul Whelan some months ago, as we said publicly; were continuing to work to secure their release, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters last week. We dont talk about the details of that publicly, as has always been the case, but it is one of the Secretary and the Presidents highest priorities. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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