“It’s been difficult for Paul to see others released before him,” said his lawyer, Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was released in a major prisoner swap with Russia and recently returned to the United States.
Attorney Ryan Fahey made the comments to ABC News. Whelan is reportedly scheduled to return to his home state of Michigan next week after spending 19 days hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center outside San Antonio, Texas.
“He continues to undergo the various medical tests and treatments that are available to Americans who are wrongfully detained and returned home, and after five and a half years here, he looks forward to rebuilding his life,” Fahey said. “And he looks forward to returning to Michigan soon to be reunited with his friends and family and rebuild his life.”
“It’s been difficult for Paul to see others being released,” Mr Fahey added. [from Russia] Artists who came before him include Britney Griner and Trevor Reed.
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Former prisoners released from Russia, journalist Evan Gershkovich (right), former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan (center), and American-Russian journalist Arus Kurmasheva (left), smile after arriving at Joint Base San Antonio Kelly Field, Texas, on August 2, 2024. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
“I believe Paul’s arrest led to all of the subsequent arrests, and they all had to do with the Russians’ desire to get some kind of benefit out of the United States,” Fahey said.
Whelan, a corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine from Michigan, had been imprisoned in Russia since his arrest in December 2018 on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S. government disputed. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Gershkovich and other prisoners released from Russia are on the mend
After arriving in the United States in early August, Whelan received an American flag pin from President Biden. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
Then in early August, Whelan returned to the United States as part of a prisoner swap between Russia and Western countries that also involved detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Since then, Whelan has been “focused on reading all about the efforts his family and the administration have made to secure his release and trying to get some closure.” Fahey told ABC News.
This photo released by the White House shows Evan Gershkovich (left), Ars Kurmaseva (right) and Paul Whelan (second from right) boarding a plane on Thursday, August 1, 2024, after being released from Russian captivity. (The White House via The Associated Press)
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Fahey also said that since returning to the United States, he was able to take Whelan out to a steak dinner, and that Whelan had been wearing an American flag pin he received from President Biden “every day since.”
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
