Day 1525 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - March 2, 2023 - Secretary Blinken Speaks Up

Paul's birthday is on Sunday.  He will turn 53 as a hostage in a Russian labor colony.  It's his 5th birthday as a captive.  The heat has been turned off in the barracks, despite the sub-zero Celsius temperatures in Mordovia.  Inmates are wearing several layers of clothes to keep warm.  The prison seems willing to cutback on everything: food, heat, bathing, human rights.
 
He will be glad to hear that Secretary Blinken continues to advocate for Paul's freedom https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/02/blinken-lavrov-speak-briefly-at-g-20-meeting-00085159&source=gmail&ust=1677877142623000&usg=AOvVaw31pfg1hwzTT706PeotnS2B">in a brief conversation with Foreign Minister Lavrov at the G20.  There have been three constants in the past few years.  The first is the Biden Administration's advocacy for Paul's release, sometimes publicly, sometimes not.  Secretary Blinken's interaction with Foreign Minister Lavrov only highlights this ongoing activity.  Our family is grateful that the Secretary of State took this high profile, rare opportunity to include Paul's freedom in his discussions with Kremlin representatives.
 
The second is that the Kremlin continues to stall on having the discussions with the U.S. government that would resolve Paul's case and bring him home.  We hope that Secretary Blinken's comment may lead to discussions about a resolution.
 
The third is that Paul continues to suffer.  His story is a geo-political hostage taking and involves the U.S. trying to rescue its citizen from another nation.  But it is also about an individual human.  So for all the statecraft and stonewalling, our brother languishes for another birthday and however many more milestones as a Russian hostage.  We hope that Paul will be coming home soon.
 
 

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  1. Day 1500 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - February 5, 2023 - 1,500 Days a Hostage
  2. Day 1490 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - January 26, 2023 - [Paul Whelan] Ambassador Tracy Reaches Moscow
  3. Day 1461 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - December 28, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Four Years a Hostage
  4. Day 1441 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - December 8, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Hooray for Brittney!
  5. Day 1431 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 28, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] No Calls
  6. Day 1421 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 18, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Another Consular Visit
  7. Day 1413 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 10, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Veteran in a Foreign Land
  8. Day 1387 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - October 15, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Paul, Other IK-17 Prisoners Walk for Foley Freedom Run
  9. Day 1384 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - October 12, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Paul Calls Home
  10. Day 1378 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - October 6, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Russia Continues to Act in Bad Faith
  11. Day 1359 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - September 17, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Meeting with President Biden
  12. Day 1348 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - September 4, 2022 - [Paul Whelan] Toil and Trouble
  13. Day 1316 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - August 5, 2022 - Watch and Wait
  14. Day 1313 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - August 2, 2022 - Will Paul Hang in the Wind Again?
  15. Day 1306 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 27, 2022 - US offer to Russian Government
  16. Day 1300 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 19, 2022 - 1,300 Days, But Progress by Biden Administration
  17. Day 1292 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 12, 2022 - Thanks to President Biden, Hope for Governor Richardson
  18. Day 1288 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 8, 2022 - President Biden Calls
  19. Day 1286 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 6, 2022 - Unfocused White House
  20. Day 1273 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - June 22, 2022 - Visits by the US, UK
  21. Day 1258 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - June 8, 2022 - Trades Off the Table #NotAllTools
  22. Day 1243 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - May 24, 2022 - Continue the Fight
  23. Day 1238 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - May 19, 2022 - What Does It Take?
  24. Day 1217 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - April 28, 2022 - Third Congressional Resolution Passed
  25. Day 1216 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - April 27, 2022 - Trevor Reed Released
  26. Day 1181 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - March 23, 2022 - Paul Saves An Attempted Suicide
  27. Day 1161 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - March 3, 2022 - Concessions Clarified
  28. Day 1133 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - February 3, 2022 - Prison Investigations
  29. Day 1120 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - January 21, 2022 - Secretary Blinken Comments
  30. Day 1096 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - December 28, 2021 - Three Years a Hostage
  31. Day 1074 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - December 6, 2021 - US Engagement on Wrongful Detainees
  32. Day 1070 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - December 2, 2021 - Additional-Corruption-Investigations
  33. Day 1064 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 26, 2021 - Back in Contact
  34. Day 1057 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 19, 2021 - IK-17 Warden Denisov Arrested
  35. Day 1056 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 18, 2021 - Prison Retaliation
  36. Day 1046 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 8, 2021 - Paul waits
  37. Day 1000 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - Sept 23, 2021 - 1000 Days a Hostage
  38. Day 993 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - Sept 16, 2021 - Three months since Biden/Putin Summit
  39. Day 985 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - Sept 8, 2021 - Mordovian Supreme Court to Hear Transfer Request
  40. Day 966 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - August 20, 2021 - Lawyers File a Motion to Transfer
  41. Day 955 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - August 9, 2021 - Out of Solitary
  42. Day 950 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - August 4, 2021 - Still a Russian Government Hostage
  43. Day 938 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 23, 2021 - Senate Resolution Passes
  44. Day 936 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 21, 2021 - Silent Summer
  45. Day 920 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - July 5, 2021 - Back at IK-17
  46. Day 913 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - June 29, 2021 - Where's Whelan?
  47. Day 899 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - June 14, 2021 - Request for President Biden
  48. Day 895 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - June 10, 2021 - Milestones
  49. Day 891 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - June 7, 2021 - Retaliation and Visitors
  50. Day 880 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - May 26, 2021 - Consular Support, Presidential Summit
  51. Day 867 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - May 14, 2021 - Consular Services Temporarily Restored
  52. Day 854 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - April 30, 2021 - Consular Support Cut
  53. Day 840 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - April 16, 2021 - Sanctions and Summits
  54. Day 824 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - March 31, 2021 - spring visitors to Paul Whelan
  55. Day 800 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - March 7, 2021 - Visit by Canadian Ambassador LeClaire
  56. Day 768 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - February 3, 2021 - State Dept Listens
  57. Day 761 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - January 26, 2021 - A New Hope
  58. Day 716 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - December 15, 2020 - 23 1/2 Months in Russian Detention
  59. Day 686 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 13, 2020 - Human Rights Visit
  60. Day 675 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - November 5, 2020 - Prison Inflicts Sleep Deprivation
  61. Day 650 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - October 8, 2020 - Hostage Diplomacy
  62. Day 636 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - Sept 24, 2020 - Ambassador Sullivan Visit
  63. Day 634 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - Sept 22, 2020 - US Ambassador Visits Camp IK-17
  64. Day 628 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - Sept 16, 2020 - Paul Whelan allegedly moved to Mordovia
  65. Day 612 - Paul Whelan - IK-17 Mordovia Russia - August 31, 2020 - Nowhere Man
  66. Day 559 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - July 3, 2020 - Some News, Some Waiting
  67. Day 545 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - June 25, 2020 - No Appeal
  68. Day 536 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - June 16, 2020 - What's Next
  69. Day 535 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - June 15, 2020 - Sentenced to 16 Years
  70. Day 531 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - June 11, 2020 - Last Update Before Trial Ends
  71. Day 518 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - May 29, 2020 - Emergency Surgery
  72. Day 515 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - May 26, 2020 - Trial Over, Sentencing on June 15
  73. Day 510 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - May 21, 2020 - Setup for a $1400 Debt
  74. Day 507 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - May 14, 2020 - The Trial Continues
  75. Day 500 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - May 7, 2020
  76. Day 488 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - April 29, 2020 - Prosecution Rests, Still No Evidence of Espionage
  77. Day 474 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - April 15, 2020 - Hearings, Virus Threat
  78. Day 461 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - April 2, 2020 - Denied PPE, Court Hearings Postponed
  79. Day 453 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - March 25, 2020 - Visit by Three Ambassadors
  80. Day 447 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - March 19, 2020 - Secret Trial Scheduled for March 23
  81. Day 432 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - March 4, 2020 - Turns 50 in Prison, Awaits Trial
  82. Day 419 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - February 22, 2020 - Trial Approaching
  83. Day 402 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - February 3, 2020 - Ambassador Sullivan's Visit, Appeal Hearing
  84. Day 398 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - January 30, 2020 - First Consular Visit in 2020
  85. Day 362 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Christmas Eve, 2019 -Detention Extended...Again
  86. Day 357 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - December 19, 2019 -Next Detention Hearing, Job Loss
  87. Day 355 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - December 17, 2019 -Collateral Damage
  88. Day 350 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - December 12, 2019 -Russian Corruption, American Defiance
  89. Day 344 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update December 6, 2019 - Prison Turkey, MFA Loses Facts
  90. Day 328 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update November 21, 2019 - Detention Continues
  91. Day 326 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update November 18, 2019 - No Medical, Misinformation
  92. Day 323 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update November 15, 2019 - Upcoming appeal hearing
  93. Day 300 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update October 24, 2019 - Detention until December 29
  94. Day 298 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update October 22, 2019 - House Resolution H.Res.552 passes
  95. Day 294 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update October 18, 2019 - David Urban lobbies for Paul
  96. Day 278 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update October 2 - Ambassador Huntsman's last visit
  97. Day 271 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update September 24 - detention appeal denied...again
  98. Day 261 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update September 17 - Paul tells media about set-up by FSB
  99. Day 259 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update September 13 - House/Senate resolutions introduced
  100. Day 238 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update August 28 - prison officials retaliating
  101. Day 217 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update August 1 - Foreign Minister Lavrov's wish list
  102. Day 200 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update July 1 - Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov's comments
  103. Day 182 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update June 28 - G20 summit
  104. Day 173 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update June 19 - Ambassador Bolton meeting
  105. Day 168 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update June 14 - FSB investigator angry at Paul
  106. Day 160 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update June 6 - FSB breaking Russian laws
  107. Day 151 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update May 28, 2019 - Detention extended another 3 months
  108. Day 145 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update May 22, 2019 - citizen unjustly held abroad
  109. Day 129 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update May 6, 2019 - attempts to coerce false confession
  110. Day 101 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update April 8, 2019 - no SPEHA for Paul
  111. Day 80 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update March 18, 2019 - call with DAS King
  112. Day 78 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update March 16, 2019 - Congress tweets
  113. Day 62 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Feb 28, 2019 - FSB isolates Paul
  114. Day 56 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Feb 22, 2019 - Extension of detention by 3 months
  115. Day 53 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Feb 19, 2019 - lawyer Zherebenkov meeting
  116. Day 40 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Feb 6, 2019 - still no Power of Attorney
  117. Day 29 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 25, 2019 - 5 consular visits
  118. Day 26 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 22, 2019 - Bail Hearing
  119. Day 25 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 21, 2019 - gofundme campaign started
  120. Day 21 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 17, 2019 - Pompeo speaks to Freeland
  121. Day 20 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 16, 2019 - Irish Embassy visits Paul
  122. Day 19 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 15, 2019 - still no Privacy Act Waiver
  123. Day 18 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 14, 2019 - lack of information from MFA
  124. Day 15 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 11, 2019 - Ambassador Huntsman calls family
  125. Day 12 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 8, 2019 - consular meeting requests
  126. Day 11 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 7, 2019 - family talks to embassies
  127. Day 08 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 4, 2019 - need Congress and State Dept help
  128. Day 05 - Paul Whelan - Lefortovo Prison Moscow - Update Jan 1, 2019 - our brother arrested by FSB