Top U.S. diplomats renewed calls for the release of an American with a connection to Martha’s Vineyard who has been detained in Russia for years. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov over the weekend, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested by Russian authorities in the city of Yekaterinburg.
According to a statement released by the U.S. State Department, Secretary Blinken conveyed in the call the country’s “grave concern over Russia’s unacceptable detention of a U.S. citizen journalist.”
The secretary called for Gershkovich’s immediate release, and further urged the Kremlin to immediately release “wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Paul Whelan.” Whelan is the brother of Vineyard resident Elizabeth Whelan, and has been detained in Russia for going on five years.
Elizabeth Whelan tells The Martha’s Vineyard Times that the recent news of the detention of an American journalist and the renewed attention on her brother does not signify that her brother could be released any sooner.
She says that she’s already met and gotten reassurance from President Joe Biden and other top diplomats that they are working to free Paul Whelan; there’s no higher chain of command that her effort can climb, she said.
Ultimately it is up to the Kremlin to release Whelan, and it’s unclear what they want in return.
But the high-profile nature of the arrest of a journalist has vaulted attention on Whelan’s release back into the national spotlight, likely the most attention Whelan’s detention has received since the release of basketball star Brittney Griner in December.
The story of Gershokovich’s capture was on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and Blinken’s statement was relayed by several top news outlets over the past several days.
“It’s absolutely helpful to have that attention,” Elizabeth Whelan said. “Every time Blinken says the names of Paul or whomever, it reminds everyone that there is a story there. It brings renewed attention from politicians. Attention is absolutely important.”
To that extent, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens filed a bill the day after Gershkovich’s arrest, calling for “the Russian Federation to immediately release United States citizen Paul Whelan.” The bill also calls on Russia to provide fair access to Whelan while he’s imprisoned.
The bill also calls on the U.S. government to send its sympathies to Whelan’s family on the Vineyard.
Elizabeth Whelan says she’s no stranger to sympathy from her fellow Islanders. In fact, she says that it’s helped her and brother keep going. Friends that Paul Whelan met while visiting the Island have been writing him letters; some Islanders he doesn’t know have sent him letters, and kept up communication.
“It makes a big difference just to know the breadth of support he has while these two countries sort out when he can return home,” Elizabeth Whelan said. “It’s good to know for him that random Americans are supporting him.”
Still, the Islander says there are some frustrations with the recent news of Gershkovich’s arrest. It’s received so much news because it’s a high-profile case. For Whelan, while she says she has the utmost sympathies for the Gershkovich family and all they are going through, there are American prisoners wrongfully detained all over the world, including in China, Iran, and Iraq, who have not received the same attention.
“It took us years to get attention to Paul’s situation,” Elizabeth Whelan said. “Evan is a media figure, and the media is rallying around him. It took us years to get that far. We don’t begrudge the attention, but it shows how difficult it is for ordinary Americans to get that attention.”
CNN is reporting that the Biden administration plans to say that Gershkovich was wrongfully detained by Russia, which would designate more resources toward his release.
