Jailed US Marine Paul Whelan says he is “greatly disappointed” not to have been included in the Brittney Griner prisoner exchange in a new interview from his Russian prison cell.
Mr Whelan told CNN that while he welcomed Ms Griner’s release from Russian custody, he had been “led to believe things were moving in the right direction” with efforts to secure his release.
“I don’t understand why I’m still sitting here,” he told CNN.
Mr Whelan, a former US Marine, was convicted of espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison after his arrest in Moscow in 2018.
He strongly denies the charges, which the US State Department has described as “false”.
President Joe Biden said during a White House press conference on Thursday that Russia had refused to include in an exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“It was a choice to get Brittney or nothing,” the US official told CNN.
Speaking to CNN, Mr Whelan said he was a victim of “political extortion”.
“They’ve always considered me to be at a higher level than other criminals of my sort and for whatever reason, I’m treated differently than another individual here from a Western country that’s also on a charge of espionage.”
He called on the Biden administration to do whatever it took to get him home, “regardless of the price they might have to pay”…
