‘Don’t Understand’: US Marine Vet in Russian Prison ‘Greatly Disappointed’ After Britney Griner Swap

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, Monday, June 15, 2020. The Moscow City Court on Monday convicted Paul Whelan on charges of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in maximum security prison colony. Whelan has insisted on his innocence, saying he was set up. The U.S. Embassy has denounced Whelan's trial as unfair, pointing that no evidence has been provided. Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who is currently imprisoned in Russia, said he was “greatly disappointed” after the United States reached a deal with Russia to exchange WNBA star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap after Griner.

“She is safe, she is on a plane, she is on her way home,” President Joe Biden said at the White House on Thursday morning. “She will soon be back in the arms of her loved ones and she should have been there all along.”

But Whelan said that he’s still jailed. Speaking to CNN Thursday, Whelan said he’s happy for Griner’s release but is “greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four year anniversary of my arrest is coming up.”

“I was arrested for a crime that never occurred,” he told the outlet Thursday via telephone from a Russian penal colony. “I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here.”

The former U.S. Marine, who was arrested ​at a Moscow hotel and accused of espionage in 2018, ​told the outlet that “my bags are packed. I’m ready to go home. I just need an airplane to come and get me.”

In response to Whelan’s situation, a White House official told reporters Thursday that the Biden administration attempted to negotiate Whelan’s release along with Griner.

“So I want to be very clear: This was not a situation where we had a choice of which American to bring home. It was a choice between bringing home one particular American—Brittney Griner—or bringing home none,” the unnamed official said. “We will never relent until we bring Paul home, too, along with other Americans held hostage and wrongfully detained globally.”

During remarks at the White House, Biden said that his administration has “not forgotten about Paul Whelan, who has been unjustly detained in Russia for years.” The Russian government, he added, “is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s.”

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner speaks to her lawyers standing in a cage at a courtroom prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow on July 26, 2022. Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool/AP Photo

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Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth, told ABC News that his family expected that Griner could return first due to the nature of their respective cases.

“We’ve always known that the Russians were treating Paul separately, and therefore, we always knew that there was a chance that this would happen, that would Brittney would be released first,” she said.

Whelan’s brother, David, said it was the “right decision” to secure Griner’s release.

“The Biden administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen,” he told news outlets on Thursday.

However, U.S. officials said they did not see an immediate path to bringing about Whelan’s release, saying Russia has treated his case differently because of the “sham espionage” charges against him.

Still, they said they believe communication channels with the Russians remain open for negotiations for his freedom. “We didn’t want to lose the opportunity today to secure the release of one of them,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

‘Merchant of Death’

Meanwhile, to secure Griner’s release, the U.S. agreed to release Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence on charges that he conspired to sell tens of millions of dollars in weapons that U.S officials said were to be used against Americans. Biden issued an executive grant of clemency to free the arms dealer from a federal prison in Illinois to effect the prisoner swap.

Former Soviet military officer and arms trafficking suspect Viktor Bout deplanes after arriving at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., on Nov. 16, 2010. U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images

The decision to release Bout, who has been referred to as the “Merchant of Death,” in exchange for Griner amid Whelan’s situation drew criticism from Republican leaders in Congress. “This is a gift to Vladimir Putin, and it endangers American lives,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said of Bout’s release. “Leaving Paul Whelan behind for this is unconscionable.”

Bout received a 25-year prison term in 2012 after he was convicted of selling arms to Colombian rebels. Moscow has been calling for his release since then, saying the conviction was politically motivated.

Griner, meanwhile, was arrested in February before she pleaded guilty in July to possessing cannabis oil but said she had no criminal intent. She was sentenced to nine years in prison in August.

Whelan has been held in Russia since December 2018. The U.S. government also classified him as wrongfully detained. He was sentenced in 2020 to 16 years in prison.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.