Who is Paul Whelan and how long was he detained in Russia?

After more than five years of languishing in a Russian prison, Paul Whelan has finally been freed. The former U.S. Marine and political prisoner has been seeking rescue since he was first detained in 2019 after a leisure trip abroad turned into a nightmare.

Who is Paul Whelan?

Paul Whelan is an American citizen. The 53-year-old former Marine was detained in Moscow in 2018 on suspected espionage charges. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused him of being caught “red-handed,” and claimed he was attempting to retrieve a flash drive containing sensitive information.

Born in Canada to British parents of Irish heritage, Whelan moved to the U.S. as an adult. Technically a citizen of four countries, his multinational status was considered incredibly suspicious, and gave the espionage claim legs. Whelan and his family claim he was framed by a former friend. The man turned up at his hotel room uninvited the day before his detainment.  He told the BBC that it was “An FSB officer. He’s someone I’ve known for ten years.”   

The former U.S. Marine has maintained his innocence throughout the trial, and claimed that he had received state secrets on a flash drive unwittingly. The device in question, Whelan claims, was only supposed to contain his friend’s vacation photos. Whelan told the BBC, “Russia says it caught James Bond on a spy mission, in reality, they abducted Mr. Bean on holiday.”

At the time, Whelan worked for BorgWarner, an automotive parts supplier out of Michigan with business ties to Russia. Whelan traveled to the country often for work, had a decent grasp of the language, and had visited multiple times since 2007.

According to his family, Whelan was in Russia for the wedding of a fellow Marine, which took place on December 28, the same day he was detained. The arrest came during a point of marked unrest between the U.S. and Russia. Marina Butina, a Russian gun rights activist, was arrested in the United States weeks before on charges of acting as an unregistered Russian agent, and rumors quickly spread that Whelan was grabbed to expedite a prisoner swap.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denied the claim.

Whelan’s detention came at a contentious point in the countries’ relationship. After the 2016 election, it was discovered that Russia had participated in widespread election interference. The addition of the crisis in Syria and Ukraine, as well as the poisoning of a former Russian spy in Britain, ramped up the tension between the two countries.

How long was Paul Whelan in Russian prison?

Whelan says he was the victim of “greasy, slimy Russian politics.” His trial was closed, with the press and the public barred from the proceedings. He was questioned multiple times without his lawyer present, and he was encouraged to plead guilty. He was detained in Lefortovo prison from early January 2019 until June of 2020.

It took the judge just one minute and 20 seconds to declare Whelan guilty of espionage. He was sentenced to 16 years of hard labor in a high-security facility for dangerous offenders. Although Whelan was passed over for release in place of WNBA star Brittney Griner in late 2022, his family was loudly supportive of the one-to-one prisoner exchange.

Whelan served 5 years, 7 months, and 4 days of his prison sentence before being released in the largest East-West prisoner exchange recorded.

Upon Whelan and his fellow inmates’ release, President Joe Biden, who negotiated the exchange, said “Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.”