Ex-US marine Paul Whelan's lawyer says he no longer knows where he is after he was jailed in 2020 to 16 years in Russian jail for spying

Former US marine Paul Whelan's lawyer says that she nary longer knows wherever he's being held, 4 years aft he was sentenced connected espionage charges successful Russia. 

His attorney, Olga Karlova told nan media this week she had sent a petition to nan situation colony wherever he is serving retired his word successful bid to find retired wherever he is. 

A number of Russian dissidents and group convicted for their guidance to Moscow's warfare successful Ukraine have disappeared from Russian prisons successful caller days, successful what authorities activists opportunity is simply a imaginable motion that a captive switch pinch nan West involving group for illustration Whelan, 54, whitethorn beryllium close.

Whelan a firm information executive from Michigan, was arrested successful 2018 successful Moscow, wherever he was attending a friend's wedding. He maintains his innocence, saying nan charges were fabricated. 

In December, nan State Department said it had made a important connection for Whelan and Wall Street Journal newsman Evan Gershkovich but Russia rejected it. Gershkovich is not thought to person been 1 of nan prisoners who has been moved.

Whelan has Irish, British and Canadian citizenship.

'I person requests from journalists from various world agencies asking maine to explain whether I cognize Paul's whereabouts, arsenic location are rumors of a imaginable exchange,' his lawyer told Interfax, nan Russian news agency. 

'I person sent a petition to nan [prison] colony administration, but I'm not getting an answer.'

He is nan only non-Russian nationalist who has been moved from their penal colonies. 

The others are opposition leader Ilya Yashin, Memorial caput Oleg Orlov, Navalny associates Liliya Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeeva, and anti-war activistic Sasha Skochilenko.

Officials ne'er gave specifications connected nan attempted December 2023 swap. Russian President Vladimir Putin, asked astir releasing Gershkovich, pointed to a man imprisoned by a U.S. state for 'liquidating a bandit' who had allegedly killed Russian soldiers successful Chechnya.

That appeared to mention to Vadim Krasikov, serving a life condemnation successful Germany successful 2021 for nan sidesplitting of Zelimkhan 'Tornike' Khangoshvili, a Georgian national of Chechen descent.

 During a News Nation interview with Natasha Zouves successful May, Whelan's brother, David Whelan described nan bleak authorities his relative now finds himself successful 5 years into his captivity.

'He's conscionable disintegrating, and will proceed to do so,' said David.

'His cognitive intelligence wellness is deteriorating. We're starting to get a consciousness of that successful nan telephone calls. He's sewage beingness problems. He's sewage a cracked bony he can't get fixed.' 

Whelan was quoted arsenic saying successful 2023 that he felt 'abandoned' by nan Biden management arsenic he had been near retired of situation swaps.  

In April, WNBA prima Brittney Griner told Robin Roberts connected ABC's 20/20 that she thought that Paul Whelan would beryllium connected nan aforesaid level arsenic her taking them location to nan USA. 

'When I walked connected and I didn't spot him, I was like, okay, possibly I'm early. Maybe he's next. Maybe they're going to bring him next,' she said. 

'And erstwhile they closed nan door, I was like, "Are you earnestly not going to fto this man travel location correct now?"'

Griner was traded for Viktor Bout, an arms trader fixed nan nickname 'the Merchant of Death.' 

She says that nan US authorities should person pushed harder to effort and bring some herself and Whelan back.

'If it was near up to maine successful that trade, I would person went and sewage Paul and brought him home,' Griner says.