Whelan calls parents from Russian prison, brother says

U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018, was able to call his parents from Russian prison, his brother David Whelan said on Wednesday.

Paul Whelan was moved to a prison hospital in mid-September, where the phones have “rarely” worked, his brother said. This is only the second call Whelan has been able to make home since moving to the hospital.

Whelan, who is not receiving and does not require medical treatment, remains unsure why he was moved to the prison hospital, according to his brother.

David Whelan noted that the Whelan family will be watching the outcome of the appeal of fellow detained American Brittney Griner on Oct. 25 and is “hoping for the unlikely reduction of sentence or release for time served.”

He warned that if the WNBA star does not secure her release, she may be transferred to a “labor colony” to serve her sentence.

“This appeal does not seem to be impacting U.S. and Russian government discussions about Paul and Brittney’s freedom so much as Russian government bad faith is,” David Whelan added.

Griner was arrested in Russia in February for carrying vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her carry-on luggage. She was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison. Griner has since appealed the decision.

Paul Whelan was arrested on spying charges in 2018 and faces 16 years in prison. Whelan strongly denies the charges.

While President Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview aired on Tuesday that he has “no intention” of meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit, he noted that he might meet with Putin to discuss the release of Whelan and Griner.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson also said on Sunday that he is “cautiously optimistic” about securing Whelan and Griner’s release, after he returned from a recent trip to Russia on behalf of the families.