Paul Whelan -- three years in captivity

The site of the prison camp at Mordovia, where Paul Whelan remains imprisoned, three years after his arrest on false pretenses.

"The FSB stole Paul Whelan's freedom three years ago. Now Paul sits in a Russian labor colony, waiting for justice after being convicted in a secret trial with secret evidence. I'm sure he waits in vain. At least he can hope for his freedom."

So begins the December 28 article by David Whelan, Paul's twin brother, once more bringing Paul's plight to the media. December 28 marks the third anniversary of Paul's false imprisonment by Russian officials.

On December 28, 2018, Paul was in Russia to attend the wedding of a friend, when his hotel room was raided. When he did not appear at the wedding, according to news reports, the newlyweds filed a missing-person report. Russian authorities claimed Whelan had accepted a flash drive containing classified information, and accused him of being a spy. He was arrested and his family learned of his fate on January 1, 2019. Since then, the "Team," including Paul's three siblings, has worked tirelessly to keep his story in the forefront of media attention and the government. Paul is currently serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian prison camp in Mordovia.

"It's not just the injustice of Russian hostage diplomacy," David says. "It's the stolen years with our parents (Ed and Rosemary Whelan of Manchester) as they age, missing Christmases and birthdays and family time. It's the stolen life, as one by one, Paul lost his job, his home, his ability to communicate and be with friends.

"We remind Paul that people still care about his case and his false imprisonment. HM Consul Sarah Pilbeam from the UK Embassy visited him on Dec. 21 to provide consular support and boost his morale. The prison rejected Christmas cookies the Embassy brought but we are grateful for the effort they made to see him out in Mordovia."

While the Biden Administration has raised Paul's wrongful detention in contacts with Russian counterparts, the situation remains essentially unchanged. The Whelan family hopes that 2022 is the year that Paul's freedom is restored to him. Yet, with continued unrest in Russia and at the Ukraine border, they worry about Paul's situation being put to the back burner of US-Russian diplomacy after three long years of hard work on the part of so many embassies, including the UK, Canada, Ireland, and the US.

“The U.S. Embassy [in Moscow] is a lifeline, a literal lifeline, for Paul,” David said. “So an invasion and the likely very frosty or outright conflicting diplomatic situation that could occur would make all of that much more difficult.”

Elizabeth Whelan, Paul's sister, wrote on Facebook on Dec. 31, to convey a message which he asked to share with all who have been helping and supporting him from afar:

"As year FOUR of wrongful detention begins, I would like to recognize the people supporting me. You have all been generous with your time, talents, and resources, which is very much appreciated by my family and me. My dog Flora is awaiting my return home, and it is my hope that the five governments involved will quickly resolve this situation. Please continue your advocacy and endeavors on my behalf, and don’t forget to write. Thank you, and Happy New Year!"

Elizabeth continued, "The five governments to which Paul referred to are those of his citizenships — USA, Canada (birth), UK (parents), and Ireland (ancestry), and of course, Russia, which is using hostage-diplomacy with Paul as a pawn. The Whelan family is extremely grateful to the US for taking the lead to resolve this issue. It will take a multilateral effort to bring hostage-diplomacy to an end. There are now dozens of families in similar situations like ours, with loved ones being held as pawns by hostile foreign powers. We will continue to ask the US government and President Biden to get Paul Whelan (and Trevor Reed) home quickly by whatever means necessary, then work globally to bring Russia, and other such offenders, to account for this egregious behavior."

Rosemary Whelan, Paul's mother, says that "life feels like a roller coaster" most days. At noon local time (9 pm Russian time), they receive a daily (recorded) phone call from Paul that he is allowed to make from the administration office at the prison. "We are his only 'allowed' phone number, apart from the US Embassy, so it is a vital link for news and needs which we pass on to The Team (Elizabeth, David and Andrew.) We make sure that we always end on a high note, usually about our dog Flora's antics or ours! It is lovely to hear his voice and he sounds just the same to us, with his usual sense of humor."

Rosemary and Ed have an alarm that goes off at 11:45 each day, at which time they assemble legal pads and any notes to tell Paul, and a landline phone each. It is usually about 12:10 when he calls, and they want to be ready and waiting so as not to waste a minute. After the call, Rosemary usually does a 'writeout' or update that she will then send to The Team.

As the cold days of winter drag on in Mordovia as well as in Michigan, the Whelan family appreciates the support of the community and the many letters that have been sent to him over the past three years. The address to write to Paul via the US Embassy in Moscow, please see below. He would love to hear from you. Only regular US first-class postage is required.

Paul Whelan
c/o
American Citizen Services Unit
Consular Section
5430 Moscow Place
Department of State
Washington, DC 20521-5430

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.