Whelan family at odds with Biden administration over brother's plight in Russian prison

Washington ― Paul Whelan's family is escalating its criticism of the Biden administration's handling of their brother's detention in Russia, saying they're concerned about resources being diverted from his case and a potential decision by U.S. officials that would leave him behind again.

The new statement comes as the State Department and White House are under increasing pressure to react to the arrest and charging of another American citizen, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who like Whelan was charged with espionage and is being held by the Federal Security Service (FSB) at Lefortovo prison in Moscow.

The former security executive from Novi is serving a 16-year sentence at a labor camp in Mordovia and is in his fifth year of detention after a conviction on what he and U.S. officials have long decried as bogus espionage charges.

Whelan told his parents in Manchester, Michigan, in a call over the weekend that he feels "abandoned" by the U.S. government, his brother David said Monday in a statement.

"His resilience is shaken. Paul has spent the last 1,570 days trying to maintain hope.  His struggles have been apparent in his letters and in his phone calls over the years," David said. 

"But now, Paul seems rattled like never before, understandably apprehensive that the U.S. government will choose not to bring him home again, now that there is another American wrongfully detained by the Kremlin."

Last year, Whelan saw two Americans, including WNBA star Brittney Griner, arrested in Russia after him go home as part of prisoner swaps, while he remains in custody.

David Whelan repeated concerns raised by other families of wrongfully detained prisoners abroad that the White House and State Department are prioritizing cases where detainees or their loved ones have the resources to generate "notoriety " ― a reference to the cases of Griner, a star WNBA player, and Gershkovich, a journalist for an international news outlet.

"It is the U.S. government's duty to bring Paul home," David said. "If the U.S. government is pulling its punches at the expense of some of its citizens, it should stop doing so." 

More:Why getting Whelan freed from Russia is proving harder than Griner

Envoy: Whelan's spirits 'still good'

Ambassador Roger Carstens, the U.S. special envoy for hostage affairs, said on CNN Friday that his office and the U.S. government do not prioritize among wrongful detention cases, no matter their profession or level of celebrity or wealth. His office has 30 to 40 cases pending at the moment, Carstens said.

"What I can tell you is this. In 26 months, this administration has brought back 26 Americans. So, working closely with the National Security Council and the White House we're going to find a way to bring Evan (Gershkovich) and Paul Whelan home," Carstens said.

"The President of the United States and the secretary are committed to bringing Evan home, and Paul Whelan as well, and we're going to find whatever it takes to get that job done. I wouldn't want to get into the specifics and the pathways of negotiation. To my mind, that might decrease our chances to garner that release."

Carstens also said he spoke to Paul Whelan last week for about 15 minutes, and that his spirits are "still good."

"He's still remaining strong. He's still resilient," Carstens said. "A small known fact ... he sings the National Anthem every day from his prison cell. And he's ready to come home, and we're going to find a way to bring him home."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken this month spoke to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov demanding Gershkovich’s release and afterward said he also reiterated to Lavrov that the U.S. had put forward a proposal “that’s been on the table for some months” regarding Paul Whelan.

“I reiterated that Russia should move on that proposal so that we can bring Paul home,” Blinken said. “In any of these instances, there is a balance to be done between trying to bring home people who are being unjustly detained in one way or another and what it takes to do that.”

More:Michigan’s Paul Whelan fears being left behind again in Russia. His family speaks up

Blinken also said the Biden administration has demonstrated in the past that by using tools it has available such as sanctions that it can increase the pressure and penalties “on those who would engage in the practice of unlawful, arbitrary detention of American citizens.”

A State Department spokesperson said Monday the government continues to engage with Russia through an established channel to bring Whelan home, noting again the proposal made for his release.

"His release remains an absolute priority.  We have engaged and will continue to engage the Russian government on his case," the spokesperson said.

'No creative strategy' for Whelan

But in an indication of how frustrated the Whelan family is with the administration, Paul's sister, Elizabeth, said Monday she would "pause" further interactions with staffers of the State Department and White House National Security Council "until they stop wasting her time and come up with something more than thoughts and prayers."

Elizabeth Whelan has made 23 trips to Washington, D.C., from her home in Edgartown, Mass., to meet with administration and congressional officials during both the Trump and Biden administrations, at her own expense.

In the months since she last met with State Department and NSC officials in February, Elizabeth Whelan said she has had no indication that a resolution was at hand, concluding that the U.S. government's efforts thus far haven't worked.

"Why? I have no idea. What I do know is that we need the White House to take charge and get the upper hand with the likes of the Kremlin. We need some street smarts applied here," she said in a Facebook video posted Friday.

"And perhaps the White House does know what it might take to get the job done, but they are reluctant to cross what they see as some red line. This reluctance means my brother Paul continues to sit in a prison camp in Russia, waiting for help that does not arrive. And as far as I can tell, there is no creative strategy to get Paul Whelan home."

More:Timeline of Michigan resident Paul Whelan's detention in a Russian prison

Elizabeth Whelan noted that the U.S. government had previously created "arbitrary red lines" that it claimed it wouldn't cross to resolve her brother's detention case, but then it went on to cross those lines to bring home other wrongful detainees from Russia.

She added that the Biden administration has vowed to use whatever resources it takes to get Gershkovich home.

"Does this not beg the question: If there are resources that can be used to get an American out of Russia, why haven't they been used for my brother Paul?" Elizabeth said.

The National Security Council did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment.

mburke@detroitnews.com