(WXYZ) — December 28, 2022, marks four years since Novi native Paul Whelan has been incarcerated in a Russian prison.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2018 on spying charges. Whelan says he was only traveling to Russia to attend a friend's wedding.
Throughout his four years in prison, the U.S. government has made many attempts to bring him back to the United States. The most recent attempt was an attempted conjoined prisoner swap with WNBA player Brittney Griner. The Biden administration was able to bring Griner home before Christmas but was unable to bring Whelan home as well.
In a statement from the White House, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says, "the President and I have told the Whelan family, we will not stop, we will not relent, we will not cease until all Americans can celebrate Paul’s return."
Paul's twin brother David calls today "both awful and mundane."
"Just another day that Paul has to suffer in a Russian labor colony for being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he wrote in a statement. "Another day that our parents have to suffer without being able to see or be with their son. It is both a culmination of lost life - four years of missed birthdays, Christmases, and other experiences - and also not an end point. It's merely a marker of their suffering, not an indicator that the suffering will come to an end before another milestone, another year passes."
The Biden Administration has been adamant that they will continue to fight for Paul's release. David says he's grateful.
"Hopefully these efforts will be successful. Hopefully Paul will be able to stop by our parent's home and visit them, free at last, before another milestone passes," he said.
