US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and detained US "spy" Paul Whelan talk to Secretary of State | Paul | Paul Whelan
According to CNN, on the 16th local time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked by phone with former US Marine Paul Whelan who was serving a sentence in Russia for espionage. At the same time, Paul's family hopes that the US government can take practical actions to ensure his release as soon as possible.
According to people familiar with the matter, Antony Blinken hoped that Whelan would "continue to maintain confidence" and promised that the US government was making every effort to bring her home as soon as possible.
It was reported that this was the second time in four years that Antony Blinken had a direct call with Whelan who was serving his sentence in the Mordoya Reformation Camp.
At the time of this call, Paul's family expressed their hope that the concrete action of the US government to help Paul be released can proceed faster.
"I deeply feel this sense of urgency and frustration," said Paul's sister Elizabeth Whelan. "This slow pace - I'm not sure if we've made every effort to get Paul back home."
Paul's brother David Whelan also stated that his family has begun to accept the fact that Paul may need to complete 16 years of imprisonment.
"I think we have confirmed that Paul may return home in 2034," David said. "I don't think there is any reason to believe that what the US government is doing now will lead to Paul's immediate release, or even prompt release."
According to media reports, Paul Whelan had previously served in the United States Marine Corps and held passports from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland. He was arrested on December 28, 2018 at a hotel in the Russian capital Moscow. At that time, he met with a Russian acquaintance who gave him a USB drive. Huilan said that he went to Russia to attend a friend's wedding and thought that Udisk had vacation photos.
The Russian Federal Security Agency has accused Huilan of engaging in espionage activities, stating that there is confidential information inside the USB drive, and Huilan has been "caught at the moment.".
A Moscow court ruled in June 2020 that Huilan was convicted of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in prison. Huilan subsequently decided not to appeal and hoped to be released through a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. But recently, neither the US nor Russia has included him in the list of "prisoner exchanges", and he was dissatisfied with being "left behind".