WASHINGTON — The family of Michigan's Paul Whelan expressed happiness Wednesday at Russia's release of another former Marine, Trevor Reed, while appearing frustrated that the U.S. left their brother and son out of the prisoner swap.
The development is not a good sign for Whelan, his brother, David, told The Detroit News. He now sees a narrower window for his brother's potential release after more than three years in Russian custody — which is longer than the over 2 1/2 years Reed had been held.
"The Russian and U.S. governments negotiated a trade, and that trade did not include Paul," David said. "There is no reason to think that a second trade or some other concession that would lead to Paul's release is pending. Unfortunately, one of the possible perspectives this morning is that we're starting over."
