Former US Marine Paul Whelan has been seen on video for the first time since he was imprisoned in Moscow three years ago.
In footage released by the state-funded channel Russia Today, the 53-year-old political prisoner can be seen interacting with other inmates at a remote maximum-security prison, wearing a prison-appropriate black cap and jumpsuit.
His family, who have not seen him since he was in prison in June 2020, said they were happy to see that “the struggle continues in his eyes.”
Whelan traveled to the Russian capital in 2018 for a friend’s wedding, but was arrested there after a closed trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He is recognized by the U.S. government as “unjustly detained.”
RT footage filmed in May but only just released shows him queuing up in the prison yard with fellow inmates, sewing clothes together in a factory and carrying a tray of gray-looking food in a canteen.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan (pictured in glasses and cap) seen on video for the first time since being imprisoned in Moscow three years ago
Whelan was last seen on camera in a defendant’s cage in a Moscow court in June 2020
Whelan, who joined the Marine Corps Reserve in 1994, was born in Canada and also holds US citizenship
He is also approached by RT’s camera crew, but refuses to do an interview.
“Sir, you understand when I say I can’t do an interview, which means I can’t answer questions,” says Whelan.
RT shared this with the caption: “Paul Whelan is a US citizen who has been in a maximum security prison since 2020 and has been convicted of spying on Moscow for Washington, yet the White House has shown little interest in fighting for his release .’
The Kremlin-backed English-language channel introduces the IK-17 camp in Mordovia, western Russia, as home to “major drug dealers, murderers and rapists” and claims Whelan has been “found guilty of espionage.”
It is alleged that he agreed to be filmed, citing a note written in Russian with his signature on it as ‘proof’ of this – but said he had ‘changed his mind’ after US embassy staff asked him for a few visited days ago.
RT also slammed the Biden administration for “throwing him under the bus” by swapping WNBA star Brittney Griner in a prisoner swap, instead of him.
Griner was arrested last year for entering Russia with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, but was released after a month behind bars in exchange for Merchant of Death arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Whelan’s family, who live in the US and Canada, have not seen him since June 2020 during his last court appearance in Moscow.
In footage released by the state-funded channel Russia Today, the 53-year-old political prisoner can be seen interacting with other inmates at a remote high-security prison, wearing a black cap and jumpsuit that were used for the prison applies.
The ex-Marine’s twin brother, David Whelan, said the RT clips show ‘the fight remains in his eyes’
His brother David Whelan said ‘it’s good to know Paul remains unbowed’ after seeing the RT footage.
“It was good to see him again and to see that the fight remains in his eyes,” he told the BBC.
Whelan previously told his parents that he had been pressured to participate in “Kremlin propaganda.”
He also told reporters over the phone that he’s worried about being left behind again after Griner was given priority over him in the latest prison swap.
“I don’t think my life should be viewed as less valuable or important than that of others who have been trafficked before,” he previously told CNN.
RT footage, filmed in May but only just released, shows him queuing up with fellow inmates in the prison yard, sewing clothes together in a factory and sitting in a canteen with a tray of gray-looking food .
The RT clip was recorded not long after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested by Russia’s security services in March on charges of espionage, sparking a mass exodus of journalists from the country.
Gershkovich has also been recognized by the U.S. government as “unjustly detained.”