Paul Whelan

Latest Stories

Elizabeth Whelan, right, hugs her brother Paul Whelan at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Newly freed Americans are back on U.S. soil after a landmark prisoner exchange with Russia

By Eric Tucker, Dasha Litvinova and Matthew Lee - Associated Press

Paul Whelan shows a pin he received from President Joe Biden as he arrives at Kelly Field after being released by Russia, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

How sweeping U.S.-Russia prisoner swap came together: An assassin, a Putin foe’s death, secret talks

By Eric Tucker, Zeke Miller and Matthew Lee - Associated Press

This image released by the White House shows Evan Gershkovich, left, Alsu Kurmasheva, right, and Paul Whelan, second from right, and others aboard a plane, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, following their release from Russian captivity. (White House via AP)

Massive prisoner swap with Russia frees American journalist, ex-Marine held in Putin’s jails

By Jeff Mordock and Mike Glenn - The Washington Times

This photo combination shows some of the U.S. citizens who are in Russian custody. Clockwise from top left are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, corporate security executive Paul Whelan, Army Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, a dual U.S.-Russian national Robert Woodland Romanov, Prague-based editor for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir service Alsu Kurmasheva, and a dual U.S.-Russian national Ksenia Karelina also known as Khavana. (AP Photo)

Who are some of the Americans behind bars in Russia, and what are the prospects for their release?

Associated Press

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he has “no doubt” that Russia has wrongfully detained an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested last week on spying allegations. Blinken's comments at NATO headquarters in Brussels urged his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, to immediately release Gershkovich as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, who had already been determined to have been wrongfully detained. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

Biden meets with family of Paul Whelan, Marine being detained in Russia

By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerhskovich, arrested in Russia on espionage charges, will remain in detention until Jan. 30, a court in Moscow ruled on Thursday. The hearing took place behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

Russian official says U.S. is hampering a prisoner exchange with unequal demands

Associated Press

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020. Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the WNBA star’s case is tangled up with that of another prisoner few Americans have ever heard of. Paul Whelan has been held in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage charges he and the U.S. government say are false. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)

Russia rejects U.S. offer to bring home jailed Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich

Associated Press

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by officers from the Lefortovsky court to a bus, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 30, 2023. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone since the Ukraine war, to immediately release Gershkovich, who was detained last week, as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the State Department said Sunday, April 2. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Blinken says WSJ reporter ‘wrongfully detained’ by Russia

By Matthew Lee - Associated Press

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by officers from the Lefortovsky court to a bus, in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, March 30, 2023. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged his Russian counterpart, in a rare phone since the Ukraine war, to immediately release Gershkovich, who was detained last week, as well as another imprisoned American, Paul Whelan, the State Department said Sunday, April 2. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Blinken: Russia must immediately free 2 detained Americans

By Eric Tucker and Matthew Lee - Associated Press

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020. The family of Whelan, an American detained in Russia for nearly four years, said Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, that the Biden administration “made the right decision” to agree to a prisoner exchange that freed WNBA star Brittney Griner but they are “devastated” that Whelan remains behind. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

U.S. marks anniversary of Paul Whelan’s detention in Russia

Associated Press

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020. Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the WNBA star’s case is tangled up with that of another prisoner few Americans have ever heard of. Paul Whelan has been held in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage charges he and the U.S. government say are false. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)

Griner thanks supporters, urges them to push for Whelan’s freedom

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of Paul Whelan, speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, to call on Congress to pass a resolution condemning the Russian government for detaining Paul Whelan. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Biden officials meet virtually with Whelan’s sister to ‘brainstorm’ on freeing him from Russia

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

Brittney Griner (15) runs up court during women's basketball gold medal game against Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics on Aug. 8, 2021, in Saitama, Japan. Russia has freed WNBA star Brittney Griner in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange, with the U.S. releasing notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Brittney Griner for Viktor Bout: WNBA star freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner swap

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

In this image made from video provided by Russian Federal Security Service, WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in the plane as she flies to Abu Dhabi to be exchanged for Russian citizen Viktor Bout, in Russia, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (Russian Federal Security Service via AP)

U.S. cheers Griner’s release from Russian prison, but doubts loom about fate of Paul Whelan

By Tom Howell Jr. and Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

In this Aug. 23, 2019, file photo, Paul Whelan, a former U.S. marine who was arrested for alleged spying in Moscow on Dec. 28, 2018, stands in a cage as he waits for a hearing in a court room in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko. File)

Paul Whelan ‘greatly disappointed’ in Biden administration, was led to believe deal would happen

By Jeff Mordock - The Washington Times

Dallas Cowboys' Micah Parsons jogs off the field after a play during an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Cowboys star Micah Parsons knocks Biden for not helping release Paul Whelan from Russian custody

By Matt Delaney - The Washington Times

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden meets with families of Russian detainees Brittney Griner, Paul Whelan

By Mica Soellner - The Washington Times

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a court room after her last words, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. Closing arguments in Brittney Griner's cannabis possession case are set for Thursday, nearly six months after the American basketball star was arrested at a Moscow airport in a case that reached the highest levels of US-Russia diplomacy. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Kremlin ignoring Biden’s ‘serious offer’ to secure release of Griner, Whelan

By Mica Soellner and Joseph Clark - The Washington Times

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a court room ater a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File) **FILE**

Griner, Whelan families to meet Biden amid U.S.-Russia talks

By Eric Tucker - Associated Press

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a court room ater a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. A judge in Russia has convicted American basketball star Brittney Griner of drug possession and smuggling and sentenced her to nine years in prison. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Kremlin says Griner swap must be discussed without publicity

By Vladimir Isachenkov - Associated Press