WASHINGTON — The White House said President Joe Biden called the sister of Michigan's Paul Whelan on Friday and reaffirmed that he is committed to bringing him home "as soon as possible" from Russia, where he's been held for 3 1/2 years.
In a statement, the White House said the administration would "continue its efforts to secure the release of Paul as well as Brittney Griner and all other Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world."
"The U.S. government will continue to be in regular contact with Paul’s family, and with the families of other Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to provide support and assistance and keep them updated on efforts to secure the release of their loved ones."
Whelan's sister, Elizabeth, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Paul Whelan, 52, is a former security executive from Novi who has been imprisoned in Russia since his arrest at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and later conviction on espionage charges that he's vehemently denied.
Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence of hard labor at a prison camp in Mordovia where he spends his days working in a garment factory. U.S. officials and lawmakers have long labeled his detention "wrongful" and pressed for his release.
His family was "astonished" earlier this week after Biden phoned the wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner but did not also call the Whelans, who have been seeking an audience with Biden for months. Elizabeth Whelan said then she was "crushed" after putting in four requests to meet with Biden that have not been granted, she said.
The Whelans suggested the disparate treatment is due to Griner's celebrity. The two-time Olympic gold medalist plays for the Phoenix Mercury was arrested in Moscow in February and faces possibly 10 years in prison in Russia on drug charges.
"We are astonished at this development and feel badly for our elderly parents, and in particular for Paul," Elizabeth Whelan told The Detroit News on Wednesday. "Does this mean he is going to be left behind yet again?"
She was referring to a prisoner swap negotiated earlier this year that led to Russia releasing Trevor Reed of Texas. Reed, like Whelan, is a former U.S. Marine arrested after traveling to Russia as a tourist, but Reed was included in the prisoner swap, and Whelan was not.
Biden's call to Griner's wife, Cherelle, came after a national CBS interview she did Tuesday, arguing that the president needed to do more to help and noting that she had not yet heard from Biden.
Whelan's twin brother, David, said Wednesday the episode said a lot about how a detainee's family resources matter.
"I don't begrudge Ms. Griner and her supporters their success in getting the president's attention while he ignores so many other families," David said.
"It suggests the only way to get the White House's attention, under President Trump or President Biden, is to have celebrity and wealth and resources that most wrongful detainees do not have."
David later said that a presidential phone call isn't necessarily dispositive, and it would be much more meaningful for someone on Biden's team to call his family to say Paul was on a plane home."
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