WNBA star Brittney Griner has asked her supporters to write Paul Whelan letters while he waits for the United States to negotiate his release from a Russian prison.
President Joe Biden’s administration celebrated the release of Brittney Griner earlier this month after swapping her with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, a.k.a. “Merchant of Death.” U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia for four years on charges of espionage, had hoped he would be a part of the swap, but it did not materialize. In a handwritten note posted to Instagram, Griner urged her supporters to show the same love for Paul Whelan by writing him letters, saying that the letters she received in prison lifted her spirits.
“Your letters helped me to not lose hope during a time where I was full of regret and vulnerable in ways I could have never imagined. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Because of you I never lost hope,” she wrote.
“Your letters were also bigger than uplifting me,” she continued. “They showed me the power of collective hands. Together, we can do hard things. I’m living proof of that. My family’s whole and now, thanks to you, we are fortunate to get to spend the holidays together. However, there remain too many families with loved ones wrongfully detained.”
Griner then included a mailing address for Paul Whelan’s family and asked that her supporters write to them.
“I hope you’ll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families,” she wrote.
Some Republican lawmakers believe that Viktor Bout had committed crimes far too great to warrant the swap for Griner. As Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) said, Biden may have aided “both sides of the war” between Russia and Ukraine, suggesting that Bout could return to his illegal arms trading to help Vladimir Putin.
Biden's now aiding both sides of the war. https://t.co/dx6mQmSO78
— Rep. Kevin Hern (@repkevinhern) December 8, 2022
As noted by the Hill, Paul Whelan’s brother, David, lauded the Biden administration for appearing “much more engaged in wrongful detentions” than the Trump administration.
“The business with the former president, basically saying he turned down an offer to bring back Paul, was a surprise and not a welcome one,” Elizabeth Whelan, Paul’s sister, told the Hill.
“We have to really deal with the here and now. For whatever it’s worth, many different administrations have had Americans kept overseas… and you just have to deal with whoever’s in office at the moment. We’re fortunate that right now we have a lot of commitment from this administration to bring Paul home and that’s where we’re focusing our energy,” she added.
The Biden administration has defended the swap by claiming that Bout poses no further security risk to the United States. However, Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told the Hill that Bout could easily become “a threat down the line.”
“So it’s possible that given the fact he’s just an amoral character who basically will sell arms or work with basically anyone, he could work with terrorist groups, and that is a risk,” Ramani said.
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