Russia releases former Marine Paul Whelan in prisoner swap

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Paul Whelan arrest could have sparked others in Russia

Fox News anchor Bret Baier takes a look at the status of Russia's imprisonment of Americans including Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich on 'Special Report.'

Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan is among those expected to be in U.S. custody soon, along with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as part of a prison transfer involving the United States and Russia, a senior administration official told Fox News on Thursday.

Whelan had been wrongfully detained by Russian authorities for more than five years, according to the U.S. State Department. His release is part of a massive swap of political prisoners and journalists involving the United States and Germany. 

Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan and former U.S. Marine, has been jailed in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S. government dispute. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. 

WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH BEING RELEASED BY RUSSIA IN PRISONER SWAP

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was arrested for alleged spying, listens to the verdict in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, June 15, 2020.  (Sofia Sandurskaya, Moscow News Agency photo via AP)

"We've made clear to the Russians our expectation that we will learn more about the charges, come to understand what it is he's been accused of and if the detention is not appropriate we will demand his immediate return," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the time.

Whelan was given a bad conduct discharge in 2008 after he was convicted on charges that included using fake documents and attempting to steal thousands of dollars while on duty in Iraq. He had been visiting Russia since at least 2007 and had spent more than a decade cultivating friends and contacts in the country. His family insisted Whelan was in Russia for tourism when he was arrested.

BIDEN MEETS WITH PAUL WHELAN'S SISTER AT WHITE HOUSE AFTER RUSSIA AGAIN REFUSES RELEASE OF FORMER MARINE

Paul Whelan, a former US marine accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants' cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020.  (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

"My brother is not a spy," Whelan’s brother David said shortly after his arrest. "Paul's background is in law enforcement. He has military experience, he's in corporate security."

Experts believe his arrest was the Kremlin’s response to the U.S. imprisonment of a Russian citizen. Maria Butina pleaded guilty in 2018 to a U.S. federal charge of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. Butina had provided information to Russia’s government on key U.S. political figures.

US MARINE VETERAN PAUL WHELAN JAILED IN RUSSIA ATTACKED IN PRISON, FAMILY SAYS

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison on July 19 after being convicted of spying by the country's government. (ALEXANDER NEMENOV / Contributor)

In November, Whelan's family said he was attacked by a fellow prisoner on a production line in a labor camp. 

Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east of Moscow. He was accused of espionage and has been detained ever since. A Moscow court last month again rejected his appeal for pre-trial release, extending his detention to at least Jan. 30, 2024. 

The Biden administration declared him "wrongfully detained" and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges, calling them absurd on their face. 

At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years, including WNBA star Brittney Griner, have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S.

Fox News' Bret Baier and Amy Munneke, as well as Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.