Paul Whelan

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerhskovich, arrested in Russia on espionage charges, will remain in detention until Jan. 30, a court in Moscow ruled on Thursday. The hearing took place behind closed doors because authorities say details of the criminal case against the American journalist are classified. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov)

Putin says Russia is in dialogue with the US on exchanging jailed Americans Gershkovich and Whelan

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday Moscow is in dialogue with with the United States on the issue of bringing home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich and the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution,” even though “it’s not easy.”

FILE - 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, June 15, 2020. The Biden administration says its made a new and significant offer aimed at securing the release of American detainees Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, but Russia has rejected the offer. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

US made offer to bring home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Russia rejected it

FILE - 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, June 15, 2020. The United States’ ambassador to Russia met Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023 with imprisoned American Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year sentence on an espionage conviction that both Washington and Whelan dispute. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

US ambassador visits American imprisoned for espionage

FILE - A poster photo of U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former Russian prisoner Trevor Reed stands in Lafayette Park near the White House, March 30, 2022, in Washington. Reed, a former U.S. Marine who was released from Russia in a prisoner swap last year, has been injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department and a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Trevor Reed, Marine veteran freed from Russia in 2022, is injured while fighting in Ukraine, US says

FILE - 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, June 15, 2020. The Biden administration on Thursday, April 27, 2023, sanctioned Russia's Federal Security Service and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence organization for wrongfully detaining Americans. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

US ambassador visits American Paul Whelan at Russian prison

Moscow court declines to hear Gershkovich appeal

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has appeared in Moscow City Court, seeking release from jail on espionage charges. (Sep. 20)

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Russian state-funded media releases footage of American Paul Whelan in remote prison

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FILE - 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, June 15, 2020. The Biden administration is marking the four-year anniversary of the detention in Russia of American businessman Paul Whelan. His continued imprisonment is one of several major irritants in tattered relations between Washington and Moscow. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a statement that securing Whelan’s release remains a top administration priority. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

US marks anniversary of Paul Whelan’s detention in Russia

The Biden administration is marking the four-year anniversary of the detention in Russia of American businessman Paul Whelan.

FILE - 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, June 15, 2020. The Biden administration is marking the four-year anniversary of the detention in Russia of American businessman Paul Whelan. His continued imprisonment is one of several major irritants in tattered relations between Washington and Moscow. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a statement that securing Whelan’s release remains a top administration priority. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

Family of American prisoner Paul Whelan backs Griner deal

The brother of an American detained in Russia since 2018 says that his family fears he will not be released for years.

FILE - 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, June 15, 2020. The family of Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia for espionage, said Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, that he has resumed contact after unexpectedly becoming unreachable in November. Along with WNBA star Brittney Griner, Whelan is the focus of efforts by the United States to arrange a prisoner swap with Russia.(Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP, File)

Brother of US man in Russian prison says contact resumed

The family of Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia for espionage, says that he has resumed contact after unexpectedly becoming unreachable in November.

FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a courtroom after a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, on Aug. 4, 2022. A senior Russian diplomat says that Russia and the United States have repeatedly come close to reaching agreement on a prisoner exchange and a deal remains possible before the year's end. The Biden administration long has been trying to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American jailed in Russia, corporate security executive Paul Whelan, including through a possible prisoner swap with Moscow. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Russian diplomat says prisoner swap with US remains possible

A senior Russian diplomat says Russia and the United States repeatedly came close to reaching agreement on a prisoner exchange and a deal remains possible before the year’s end.

FILE - CIA Director William Burns listens during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 14, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/Pool via AP, File)

CIA director warns Russian spy chief against deploying nukes

CIA Director Bill Burns has met with his Russian intelligence counterpart to warn of consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner speaks to her lawyers standing in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. A Russian court has on Tuesday, Oct. 23 started hearing American basketball star Brittney Griner's appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)

Biden hopes Putin will negotiate WNBA star Griner’s release

President Joe Biden says he hopes Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to negotiate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner now that the U.S. midterm elections are over.

President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden meets with families of Whelan, Griner at White House

President Joe Biden met with family members of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American detained in Russia, Paul Whelan.

FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a courtroom after a hearing in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Aug. 4, 2022. The Biden administration should create a new position at the White House National Security Council to focus on cases of Americans wrongfully detained in foreign countries. That's according to a report from an advocacy group, which recommends funding an interagency office to help free hostages. The U.S. has been trying to bring home Griner and another American jailed in Russia, Paul Whelan, but those efforts have so far not been successful. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Griner, Whelan families to meet Biden amid US-Russia talks

President Joe Biden plans to meet at the White House on Friday with the families of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan, both of whom remain jailed in Russia.

FILE - Former U.S. diplomat Bill Richardson speaks to reporters after a news conference in New York, Nov. 16, 2021. Richardson, who has worked to secure the releases of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, visited Moscow this week and held meetings with Russian leaders. That's according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday night, Sept. 13, 2022.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Richardson visits Moscow as Griner, Whelan remain jailed

Bill Richardson, who has worked to secure the releases of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, visited Moscow this week and held meetings with Russian leaders.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a court room ater a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. A judge in Russia has convicted American basketball star Brittney Griner of drug possession and smuggling and sentenced her to nine years in prison. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Veteran emissary Richardson hopeful for Griner, Whelan swap

Bill Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a frequent emissary in hostage negotiations, says he’s hopeful about the chances of a two-for-two prisoner swap that could result in the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted from a court room ater a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. A judge in Russia has convicted American basketball star Brittney Griner of drug possession and smuggling and sentenced her to nine years in prison. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

EXPLAINER: What will it take to get Brittney Griner home?

Now that WNBA star Brittney Griner has been convicted of drug possession and sentenced to nine years in prison, attention turns to the prospect of a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia that could get her home.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner looks through bars as she listens to the verdict standing in a cage in a courtroom in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022. A judge in Russia has convicted American basketball star Brittney Griner of drug possession and smuggling and sentenced her to nine years in prison. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

Reactions to Brittney Griner’s conviction, 9-year sentence

WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession and smuggling Thursday.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner speaks to her lawyers standing in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. American basketball star Brittney Griner returns Tuesday to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison of convicted. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

Brittney Griner’s trial resumes amid intensified diplomacy

Since Brittney Griner last appeared in her trial for cannabis possession, the question of her fate has expanded from a cramped courtroom on Moscow’s outskirts to the highest level of Russia-U.S. diplomacy.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the U.S.-Japan Economic Policy Consultative Committee (EPCC) at the State Department in Washington, Friday, July 29, 2022. (Tom Brenner/Pool Photo via AP)

Blinken, Russian top diplomat speak about Griner, Whelan

Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has spoken to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and urged Moscow to accept a U.S. proposal to release WNBA star Brittney Griner and another American detainee, Paul Whelan.

In this handout photo released by Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attend a foreign ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Friday, July 29, 2022. (Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia’s Lavrov says he will discuss US prisoner swap offer

Russia’s top diplomat says he’s open to a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss a possible prisoner swap involving American basketball star Brittney Griner.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. American basketball star Brittney Griner returned Wednesday to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison of convicted. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

Kremlin poker-faced on US swap offer to free Griner, Whelan

The Kremlin has warned that a possible prisoner swap with the United States involving American basketball star Brittney Griner needs to be negotiated quietly without fanfare.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 25, 2022. American basketball star Brittney Griner returns Tuesday to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison if convicted. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool Photo via AP)

In rare contact, US offers Russia deal for Griner, Whelan

The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan.

WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner sits in a cage at a court room prior to a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, July 27, 2022. American basketball star Brittney Griner returned Wednesday to a Russian courtroom for her drawn-out trial on drug charges that could bring her 10 years in prison of convicted. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool)

WNBA’s Griner tells drug trial: ‘My career is my whole life’

WNBA star Brittney Griner testified at her drug possession trial in Russia that an interpreter translated only a fraction of what was said during questioning when she was detained at Moscow’s airport in February and officials told her to sign documents without giving an explanation

FILE - Viktor Bout, center, is led by armed Thai police commandoes as he arrives at the criminal court in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010. The Russian arms dealer who once inspired a Hollywood movie is back in the headlines with speculation around a return to Moscow in a prisoner exchange for U.S. WBNA star Brittney Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan. (AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File)

Reviled and revered Russian arms dealer is back in spotlight

A Russian arms dealer labeled the “Merchant of Death” and who once inspired a Hollywood movie is back in the headlines again.

FILE - Elizabeth Whelan, sister of U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Russian prisoner Paul Whelan, speaks at a news conference alongside families of Americans currently being held hostage or wrongfully detained overseas in Lafayette Park near the White House, May 4, 2022, in Washington. President Joe Biden spoke by phone July 8 with Elizabeth Whelan according to the White House. Biden's phone call came after Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke earlier this week to the wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been held for more than four months in Russia. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

Biden speaks to sister of US executive detained in Russia

President Joe Biden has spoken by phone with the sister of Paul Whelan, an American who has been imprisoned in Russia for more than three years.

FILE - WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner leaves a courtroom after a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, May 13, 2022. Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was detained at the Moscow airport in February after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)

Griner’s fate tangled up with other American held in Russia

WNBA star Brittney Griner is easily the most prominent American locked up by a foreign country. But the Phoenix Mercury player’s case is tangled up with that of another prisoner few Americans have heard of.

Joey and Paula Reed, parents of U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Russian prisoner Trevor Reed, stand in Lafayette Park near the White House, Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Washington. The Reeds are urging President Joe Biden to advocate for their son's release from his nine-year prison term on charges alleging that he assaulted police officers in Moscow. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Parents of man jailed for years in Russia meet with Biden

The parents of a Marine veteran imprisoned in Russia have met at the White House with President Joe Biden and senior staffers.

FILE - 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, June 15, 2020. (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)

War in Ukraine complicates path home for American detainees

The already challenging path to bringing home Americans jailed in Russia and Ukraine is even more complicated now with a war overwhelming the region and increasingly hostile relations between the United States and the Kremlin.

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)

American imprisoned in Russia complains of sleep deprivation

MOSCOW (AP) — The brother of an American convicted of espionage in Russia said Thursday that his imprisoned sibling is suffering sleep deprivation at a prison colony where he is serving a 16-year sentence.

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)

American convicted of spying in Russia, gets 16 years

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court convicted an American corporate security executive Monday of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison after a closed trial that the U.S. denounced as a “mockery of justice,” and it angrily said his treatment in jail was “appalling.”

Diplomats visit American jailed in Russia on spying charges

MOSCOW (AP) — A U.S. diplomat on Monday visited an American jailed in Moscow for nearly a year on spying charges and said he is in good condition mentally.

US: American jailed in Russia should be freed, not swapped

MOSCOW (AP) — The U.S. Embassy in Moscow says it won’t be looking for a prisoner swap with Russia for an American jailed on spying charges.

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who was arrested in Moscow at the end of last year, is escorted for a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 24, 2019. The American was detained at the end of December for alleged spying. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Case of US man held as spy in Russia stalls without answers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The arrest of a Michigan corporate security executive on espionage allegations in Russia seemed to his family like a horrible mistake, a misunderstanding that could be quickly resolved with help from the U.S. government.