Time for Russia to release Paul Whelan

OPINION:

Last month, the Western world came to a halt when Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service and charged with espionage.

Hundreds of journalists, including this one, came to his defense, including hundreds of Russian reporters who bravely risked imprisonment to do so. In its April 17 issue, Time magazine listed Mr. Gershkovich as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for courageously remaining in Russia after it invaded Ukraine.

Three months before Mr. Gershkovich’s arrest, the U.S. released Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner, a WNBA player who was arrested in February 2022 on drug charges. While she was not the crusader Mr. Gershkovich is, her status as a gay Black star athlete created an outcry in the media, making her release a priority for the Biden administration. Time magazine also named her as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

While Mr. Gershkovich’s and Ms. Griner’s cases could not be more different, the media heralded their releases because they were able to associate their stories with a cause. One American who does not have a celebrity platform, but has suffered cruel conditions in a Russian penal colony is Paul Whelan, a former police officer and Marine Corps veteran who spent 12 years serving his country. Mr. Whelan was working as a security executive for a Michigan-based auto company when he was arrested in a Moscow hotel in an apparent setup staged to depict Mr. Whelan as a spy.

Mr. Whelan is not the celebrity Ms. Griner is, and his circumstances lack the Fourth Estate implications associated with Mr. Gershkovich’s case. While the media has reported on Mr. Whelan’s case, there is no outcry as there was for Ms. Griner and Mr. Gershkovich.

To their credit of Mr. Whelan’s family, when the U.S. government informed them it could secure only Ms. Griner’s release, they were disappointed but said that “anytime an American comes home, it’s wonderful news.”

National security adviser Jake Sullivan reaffirmed the unfairness of the situation, saying, “Paul and the Whelan family recently showed the entire country the meaning of generosity of spirit in celebrating a fellow American’s return while Russia continues its deplorable treatment of Paul as a bargaining chip.”

While some of Mr. Whelan’s story is unclear, we know he was born in 1970 in Ontario, Canada, and later served as a police officer in his home state of Michigan. In 1994, Mr. Whelan risked his life to do something only 1 in every 10,000 Americans do each year. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a reservist.

While 75% of the people who join the Marines leave after a single enlistment, Mr. Whelan stayed in for 12 years, including an overseas deployment during Operation Iraqi Freedom. When he finally left the corps, he was discharged for bad conduct after a special court-martial found he committed larceny. While his record is imperfect, it does not negate his long service to his country. Mr. Whelan’s lengthy military service is important because it made it easier for the Kremlin to depict him as an intelligence asset, a fact that should make Washington all the more eager to rescue him.

Mr. Whelan had a fascination with Russia. In 2006, he began touring the country, even joining a Russian-language social media website where he made contacts with dozens of the country’s citizens and low-level military veterans who were close to his own rank, hardly the modus operandi of a clandestine intelligence officer.

When Mr. Whelan returned to Moscow in December 2018 for a fellow Marine’s wedding, one of Mr. Whelan’s Russian “friends” whose family he had visited in the past came to his hotel and handed him a USB, which purportedly contained holiday photos and videos. That same day, the FSB arrested him, alleging the USB actually contained the names of their operatives. On June 15, 2020, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Russia’s case against Mr. Whelan is thin. Former CIA officials have said most U.S. intelligence officers pose as diplomats so that if they are exposed, their diplomatic passport ensures their release. They have also said the CIA would not recruit someone with Mr. Whelan’s bad conduct discharge. Sadly, for Mr. Whelan, it appears his own adventurism made him the perfect target for actual intelligence officers who saw an opportunity to get revenge for the Justice Department’s 2018 prosecution of Russian agent Maria Butina. The Kremlin also knew it could use Mr. Whelan for a future prisoner exchange.

While Mr. Whelan lacks the political optics of Ms. Griner’s and Mr. Gershkovich’s cases, we must never forget a fellow American, especially one who served his country for 12 years. As Master Sgt. Paul Woyshner once said, “once a Marine, always a Marine.” While U.S. authorities continue to negotiate Mr. Whelan’s release, his fellow Americans should show their support for his release.

It’s time to bring this Marine home.

• Jeffrey Scott Shapiro is a former Washington prosecutor and journalist who has reported on Russian affairs. He is a former senior U.S. official who currently serves as a member of The Washington Times’ editorial board and can be reached at jshapiro@washingtontimes.com.