Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan has been released by Russia in a prisoner swap that also freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as reported by Fox News Digital.
According to the U.S. State Department, Whelan was wrongfully held by Russian officials for over five years.
Whelan, who is from Michigan and a former U.S. Marine, has been incarcerated in Russia since his arrest in December 2018 on charges related to espionage, claims that both he and the U.S. government contest. He received a 16-year prison sentence.
WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH BEING RELEASED BY RUSSIA IN PRISONER SWAP
Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine accused of espionage, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020.
(Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)
“We have clearly communicated to the Russians the necessity of understanding the charges against him. If his detention is deemed unjust, we will insist on his immediate return,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the time.
Whelan received a bad conduct discharge in 2008 after being convicted for offenses including using fraudulent documents and attempting to embezzle funds while deployed in Iraq. He had been traveling to Russia since at least 2007 and spent over a decade building relationships in the country. His family maintains that Whelan was in Russia for leisure when he was apprehended.
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Paul Whelan, a former US marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants’ cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020.
(KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
“My brother is not a spy,” stated Whelan’s brother David shortly after the arrest. “Paul comes from a law enforcement background, has military training, and works in corporate security.”
Analysts believe that Whelan’s arrest was a retaliative measure by the Kremlin following the U.S. conviction of a Russian national. In 2018, Maria Butina pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent, having provided the Russian government with updates on important U.S. political figures.
US MARINE VETERAN PAUL WHELAN JAILED IN RUSSIA ATTACKED IN PRISON, FAMILY SAYS
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison on July 19 after being convicted of spying by the country’s government.
(ALEXANDER NEMENOV / Contributor)
In November, Whelan’s family reported an attack on him by another inmate at a labor camp while he was working a production line.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 during a reporting mission in Yekaterinburg, a city located approximately 1,200 miles east of Moscow. He is accused of espionage and has remained in custody ever since. Just last month, a Moscow court denied his pre-trial release request, prolonging his detention until at least January 30, 2024.
In recent years, at least two U.S. citizens detained in Russia, including WNBA star Brittney Griner, have been swapped for Russians imprisoned in the U.S.
Fox News’ Bret Baier and Amy Munneke, along with Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and the Associated Press, contributed to this report.
