周三，在保罗·惠兰(Paul Whelan)被俄罗斯拘留四周年之际，拜登政府发誓要继续努力让这位前海军陆战队员回家。
惠兰正在为一个在俄罗斯流放地被判16年徒刑美国和他的家人称这些间谍指控毫无根据。
国务卿安东尼·布林肯在周三的一份声明中说，“他的拘留仍然是不可接受的，我们继续利用一切机会敦促立即释放他。”。“我致力于将保罗和所有被关押在世界各地的美国人质和被非法拘留者带回家。正如总统直接对惠兰家人说的那样，我们争取保罗获释的努力不会停止，直到他回到属于他的家人身边。”
白宫国家安全顾问杰克·沙利文周三同样表示，官员们“不会停止，我们不会松口，我们不会停止，直到所有美国人都可以庆祝保罗的回归。”
在本月早些时候，因毒品指控自2月以来一直被拘留在俄罗斯的WNBA明星布兰妮·格里纳在与被定罪的俄罗斯军火商维克托·布特的囚犯交换中被释放后，政府因未能确保惠兰的释放而受到一些批评，后者正在美国服刑
美国官员曾表示，他们试图用布特交换格林纳和惠兰，但俄罗斯在惠兰问题上没有真诚谈判，惠兰在海军陆战队退役后继续从事企业安全工作，并于2018年在莫斯科一家酒店被捕，当时他正在该国参加婚礼。
12月8日，美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)在罗斯福厅(Roosevelt Room)宣布释放格林纳时说，“遗憾的是，出于完全不正当的原因，俄罗斯对待保罗的方式与对待布兰妮的方式不同。”。拜登当时说，要么把格林纳带回家，要么谁都别带。
格林纳回到美国后与妻子团聚切雷尔，12月9日。格林纳后来要求她的支持者倡导释放惠兰，称他们的努力对她的案件产生了影响。
“在一起，我们可以做艰难的事情。我就是活生生的例子，”格林纳在她Instagram账户上发布的手写笔记中写道。
在格林纳获释时，惠兰家族表示支持这位篮球明星，但表示他们担心他的未来，并对俄罗斯感到愤怒，因为在他们看来，俄罗斯把他当作了讨价还价的筹码。
周三，惠兰的哥哥大卫·惠兰(David Whelan)也谈到了他被拘留四周年。
"在看不到解决方案的情况下，你如何纪念这样一个可怕的里程碑?"他说。“这既可怕又平凡，只不过是保罗因在错误的时间出现在错误的地点而不得不在俄罗斯劳动集中营遭受痛苦的又一天。”
“又是一天，我们的父母不得不忍受看不到他们的儿子或与他们在一起的痛苦。这既是逝去生命的顶点——四年来错过的生日、圣诞节和其他经历——也不是终点。这仅仅是他们苦难的一个标志，并不意味着苦难会在另一个里程碑，又一年过去之前结束，”他继续说道。
大卫·惠兰对政府继续努力让保罗·惠兰回家表示感谢。
“希望这些努力能够成功，”他说。“希望保罗能在另一个里程碑过去之前，顺便去我们父母家拜访他们，最终获得自由。在里程碑上，有时你所拥有的只有希望。”
Whelan family, Biden officials mark anniversary of former Marine's detention in Russia
Marking the four-year anniversary of Paul Whelan's detention in Russia, the Biden administration vowed on Wednesday to continue efforts to bring the former Marine home.
Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence at a Russian penal colony for espionage charges that the United States and his family say are baseless.
"His detention remains unacceptable, and we continue to press for his immediate release at every opportunity," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday. "I am committed to bringing home Paul and all U.S. hostages and wrongful detainees held around the world. As the President said directly to the Whelan family, our efforts to secure Paul's release will not cease until he is back home with his family where he belongs."
The White House's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, similarly said Wednesday that officials "will not stop, we will not relent, we will not cease until all Americans can celebrate Paul's return."
The administration faced some criticism for failing to secure Whelan's release after WNBA star Brittney Griner -- who had been detained in Russia since February on drug charges -- was freed earlier this month in a prisoner swap for the convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a prison sentence in the U.S.
U.S. officials had said they tried to trade Bout for both Griner and Whelan but Russia was not negotiating in good faith when it came to Whelan, who went on to work in corporate security after the Marines and who was arrested in a Moscow hotel in 2018 while visiting the country for a wedding.
"Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul's case differently than Brittney's," President Joe Biden said as he announced Griner's release in remarks delivered from the Roosevelt Room on Dec. 8. It was either bring Griner home or no one, Biden said then.
Griner returned to the U.S. and was reunited with her wife, Cherelle, on Dec. 9. Griner later asked her supporters to advocate for Whelan's release, saying their efforts made an impact on her case.
"Together, we can do hard things. I am living proof of that," Griner wrote in a handwritten note posted to her Instagram account.
At the time of Griner's release, the Whelan family expressed support for the basketball star but said they were worried about his future and angry at Russia for, in their view, using him as a bargaining chip.
On Wednesday, Whelan's brother, David Whelan, also spoke out about the four-year anniversary of his detention.
"How do you mark such an awful milestone when there is no resolution in sight?" he said. "It is both awful and mundane, just another day that Paul has to suffer in a Russian labor colony for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Another day that our parents have to suffer without being able to see or be with their son. It is both a culmination of lost life -- four years of missed birthdays, Christmases, and other experiences -- and also not an end point. It's merely a marker of their suffering, not an indicator that the suffering will come to an end before another milestone, another year passes," he continued.
David Whelan expressed gratitude for the government's continued efforts to bring Paul Whelan home.
"Hopefully these efforts will be successful," he said. "Hopefully Paul will be able to stop by our parent's home and visit them, free at last, before another milestone passes. On milestones, sometimes all you have is hope."
