Paul Whelan is one of the Americans still in a Russian prison — and the one who has been there the longest — waiting for the negotiations between the U.S. and Russian governments to bear fruit. And now he lives with a new fear.

Alexei Navalny is dead . . . assassinated while incarcerated in a penal colony much like the one Whelan currently inhabits. Navalny’s death, according to the death certificate provided by the prison authorities, was officially due to “natural causes.” But Whelan knows — as does the whole world — that the man once thought to be invincible was beaten, starved, frozen, tortured to death . . . all because he would not keep silent.

Whelan’s alleged crime is more serious than Navalny’s: he was arrested in December of 2018, convicted of espionage in 2020 — a charge he has consistently denied — and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Earlier this week, he told CNN that he found Navalny’s death “extremely worrying” — obviously a gross understatement. He explained:

“I can’t say too much for obvious reasons, but one thing I will say is that if they can get to him, they can get to me. It’s extremely troubling that someone like Navalny would die under suspicious circumstances, but it’s also extremely worrying for me that this is the sort of thing that goes on. If they are willing to face the repercussions from the world for doing in somebody like Navalny, they’re not going to think twice about doing in someone like me, and then blaming the United States for not bothering to get me back in five years. So when I’ve said in the past that my death warrant’s been signed, this is the sort of thing that I refer to.” [Jennifer Hansler, CNN, March 5, 2024.]

Following a conversation last month with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken — at least the third time the two men have spoken — Whelan was reassured by the Secretary’s statement that “Our intensive efforts to bring Paul home continue every single day. And they will until he and (Wall Street Journal reporter) Evan Gershkovich and every other American wrongfully detained is back with their loved ones.” [Id.]

Whelan said that he “left the call with a good feeling that the Secretary and other members of the National Security Council are engaged and they are trying to get this resolved.” Despite this, he has requested several times to be allowed to speak with President Joe Biden, to “remind the President and the National Security Council that I’m still here, being held hostage by the Russian government, and the Biden administration has got to take decisive action to secure my release. If they don’t do anything, I’m stuck here. And if I’m stuck here, I die here.”

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Alexei Navalny’s death is a stark reminder of the fear with which Paul Whelan — and every other falsely-charged hostage sitting in a putrid Russian prison — lives every moment of every day. And it is a legitimate fear, based on the reality of Vladimir Putin’s methods of dealing with those who dare to oppose him.

They must not be forgotten; they will not be forgotten.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/8/24