LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source)- Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) has called once again for the release of Paul Whelan from Russia who was imprisoned roughly five years ago. 

“We’re not even calling on them to produce evidence. We know they don’t have evidence, we are calling on them to return this American citizen, this innocent man, who has suffered and waited much too long to gain his freedom,” Stevens said.

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The resolution has bipartisan support and is expected to pass like the previous two resolutions, one in 2019 and one in 2022, however, Stevens also also said the war in Ukraine and brutal conditions of the prison colony where Whelan was sentenced have made all of this more urgent to bring him home. 

Whelan, formerly served as a Marine, and a Sheriff’s Deputy in Washtenaw County, celebrated his 53rd birthday this year from behind bars in Russia after an arrest in 2018 that led to a 16 year prison sentence on June 15, 2020 for spying. 

Previously, Michigan News Source was able to hear some of his brother, David Whelan’s, thoughts on what it is like to try and maintain one’s estate when that person is detained overseas. 

“People’s lives can be wrecked while they are being held hostage. What happens when those automatic payments you set up keep debiting your account (your Amazon Prime account or your automatic delivery of coffee pods) until it’s empty because you’re being held in a foreign labor camp? Or you lose your apartment because you’re not paying rent and there’s no one to move your possessions out or take ownership of them?,” he said. 

It has also taken nearly four years according to David Whelan to obtain a letter from the State Department designating Paul, officially as “wrongfully detained” so that the family could show it to creditors and financial stewards. 

Earlier this week, a Wall Street Journal journalist, Evan Gershkovich, was arrested in Russia under similar charges to Paul Whelan, which President Biden has called for the release, and WSJ has denied charges of espionage. 

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David Whelan issued a statement that aired on clickondetroit regarding President Joseph Biden’s administration’s actions regarding Paul. 

“We don’t have much to show for those good intentions,” David Whelan said in a statement, “Paul has spent over 51 months trying to survive until those intentions become actions.  I have started to wonder whether Paul’s case really is a priority.” 

Paul Whelan’s twin brother also referenced the two instances including the release of WNBA, Brittney Griner, who was released only several months after her arrest in exchange for a known international arms dealer, Viktor Bout, ahead of the Marine. 

“Paul has been left behind twice and, while it meant other Americans were freed, it also meant that the U.S. government used resources that it can no longer sue in future cases.” 

While in early March, the family had a date of Dec. 28, 2024 as Paul Whelan’s official release date, the goal is to bring him back home sooner so that his elderly parents can see their son freed in their lifetime.