Brittney Griner has finally found her freedom from the Russian penal colony. The State Department worked out a one-for-one prisoner swap deal with Russia to secure Griner’s release. However, the White House failed to finalize the original deal that proposed the release of Griner and retired US marine Paul Whelan in exchange for Viktor Bout. And now, when Griner is returning to the US, Paul Whelan’s family has broken their silence on the whole scenario.

The Biden Administration was working to secure the release of both American citizens. However, the Russian authorities did not agree to the original offer that included Whelan. The former US marine is housed in a penal colony in Russia, serving a 16-year sentence under charges of espionage. Whelan’s family recently shared their take on the release of Brittney Griner.

Whelan family shares thoughts on the release of Brittney Griner

In a recently released statement, David Whelan, the brother of Paul Whelan, expressed the family’s happiness about Griner’s release.

David said,?“It is important to me that it is clear that we do not begrudge Ms. Griner her freedom.”?Taking to Twitter, Clearance Hill Jr. shared the same.

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Further, David continued, “As I have often remarked, Brittney’s and Paul’s cases were never really intertwined. It has always been a strong possibility that one might be freed without the other.”

Paul Whelan’s brother shared that his family had no ill feelings about Brittney Griner’s freedom. Moreover, David reckoned that Griner and Paul Whelan’s situations were never connected. Hence, he felt there was a possibility that one of them could have been released before the other.

Unfortunately, Paul Whelan remains stuck in Russia since 2018. The prisoner swap deal gave Whelan hope for freedom. However, the final verdict on the deal has left the retired US marine disappointed.

President Biden claims Whelan has not been forgotten

President Joe Biden broke the news about Brittney Griner’s release from Russia. He was glad to announce that Griner was in good spirits and on her way home. Moreover, President Biden stated that the State Department will continue to work on securing a release for Paul Whelan.

Joe Biden said, “We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan. We will never give up.”

The president assured that Paul Whelan has not been forgotten and the government will continue to work on bringing Whelan back home.

Further, as per US officials, bringing both Griner and Whelan was not an option that Russia had agreed upon. The Kremlin offered a choice between releasing Brittney Griner or none of them.

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Meanwhile, the Whelan family remains hopeful for the freedom of Paul Whelan as President Biden promised to keep working for the former US marine’s freedom.