(NewsNation) — Paul Whelan, the former Marine who the U.S. State Department says has been wrongfully imprisoned in Russia since 2018, has lost hope he will ever return home or that new Russian leadership would perhaps change his circumstances, he said in a new letter.
“My parents are quite elderly, and I have given up hope of seeing them again. Friends have moved on, relatives have passed away. The Russians have ruined my life. One that is destined to end in a slave labor camp, fraught with intolerable conditions for no reason other than a hatred of human rights and freedoms,” he wrote from prison in a statement obtained by NewsNation.
Whelan’s statement comes after Russia on Tuesday rejected the Biden administration’s offer aimed at securing the release of Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia since March.
Paul Whelan’s brother, David Whelan, said this setback returns his family to the starting point.
“Unfortunately, I think what we are finding is that the U.S. government is either out of concessions or moving so slowly that they are unable to resolve Paul’s deal,” he said. “So in this case, we are back, essentially, to Dec. 28, 2018, with Paul, not knowing how long he’s going to have to stay there —potentially having to stay there for the entire time.”
David Whelan added he believes Paul is determined the White House hear him and act.
“This game of diplomatic niceties and pleasant dialogue needs to end, the White House National Security Council and Department of State must take decisive action to secure my release. President Biden, I have paid a high price for being an American citizen. A promise is a promise. The clock is ticking on getting this done. Please bring me home,” Paul Whelan wrote in the statement.
He added: “I’ve been promised that the United States is coming for me. I hope that happens before it’s too late.”
Paul’s Whelan sister, Elizabeth Whelan, has requested to meet with President Biden, but David Whelan said the White House has dismissed that request so far.
“I think it would go a long way to let us know that they are in fact engaged. That when President Biden says he’s not giving up, that there’s a concrete action that they are going to take, and that they’re not just waiting another year and letting these years pile up and let Paul’s life slip away,” David Whelan said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election. He’s projected to win another six years in office, as many people fear running against him.
David Whelan said this doesn’t suggest anything will improve on the Russian end of this arrangement, although it isn’t to say the Kremlin can’t do deals.
“They were able to do an arrangement to release Brittney Griner. They were able to do an arrangement to release Trevor Reed. So, there’s no reason they can’t do one to also release Paul Whelan. But it will take the U.S. government to take the action to provide the concessions for that to happen,” he said.
Paul Whelan was attacked by a prisoner in November. He has previously endured violence when he was in pretrial detention in Moscow at the hands of a guard who was later reprimanded for that. He has also endured verbal abuse at the labor camp that he’s currently at. However, this was the first physical attack he had endured.
David Whelan said the assault “shook” Paul Whelan, and his family is concerned about his safety, and this attack has potentially put a new target on his back for future assaults.
“Since then, he has been shaken down by the deputy warden of the prison for protection money. So, he’s in this situation where if he doesn’t pay for protection, he may be physically assaulted again,” he explained.
He added: “It’s the sort of thing where you are in a state of perpetual vigilance all the time because you never know when the next attack is going to come. I think there’s no way to maintain your sanity, your mental health and that sort of situation.”