It was so long outside that even developed seasonal allergies
For Paul Whelan to return to life in the United States after more than half a decade of Russian prison was “interesting” – but not without its challenges.
“It is literally starting over,” he told CNN before the one-year anniversary of the comprehensive prisoner exchange agreement between the US and Russia that guaranteed his release.
“For people like me, who returned home after five and a half years, we don’t really have much. The house has disappeared. The cars have disappeared. The job has disappeared. There is no health insurance,” he said.
His posttraumatic stress disorder is triggered in hotel rooms after being “violently stuck” in one of them in 2018 while visiting Moscow for a friend’s marriage. It was this detention on espionage charges that began his nightmare of almost six years of detention in Russia.
Returning to his home in Michigan was an adaptation, he said, and even developed new seasonal allergies for having been so long.
“It took a while until I was comfortable driving the same streets I used to drive, or go to a park, or to do the things I used to do, especially with my dog when she was alive,” Whelan told CNN. His dog passed away while he was in Russia.
“Doing routine things that I haven’t been doing for five and a half years, six years, and then returning to them, and it took a few months to recover the way.”
Whelan did not get a new job. Some companies do not hire people who have been in prison, regardless of the detention, he explained, and is competing with people who do not have a hiatus of almost six years in the curriculum.
Paul Whelan, his parents and deputy Debbie Dingell of Michigan. Courtesy of Paul Whelan
Paul Whelan with Michigan Haley Stevens deputy receiving a copy of the resolution that calls for his release. Courtesy of Paul Whelan
Levinson law codified essential parts of US hostage policy by law, including the position of special envoy for hostage affairs, and has established criteria for making decision -making decision -making. Additional amendments sought to increase support for hostage families and unjustly detained in the US.
“Congressman Dingell has worked closely with Paul Whelan to understand and approach the challenges that political prisoners face when they return home,” Dingell’s office deputy chief of Michaela Johnson told CNN. “One of them is to ensure that they have medical treatment and mental health resources needed to recover from traumatic experience.”
“She is working on legislation to address these issues that have been raised in her work experience with Paul,” said Johnson.
“Most people understand the issue of unfair detention,” he added to CNN. “They do not know what to do with him. Not necessarily fit his policies or procedures.”
Whelan has been working with Michigan Debbie Dingell and Haley Stevens Democrats and others to approve a law “that would finance medical, dental and psychological care listed in Levinson law that were never funded, as well as providing compensation and things from genre to former reprints who were unjustly detained.”
Whelan also wants to meet with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the matter.
Whelan keeps contact with former convicts
Whelan maintains contact with other prisoners who were arrested with him in a Russian criminal colony in the borde.
The installation, IK-17, according to Whelan, has been closed and will host Ukrainian prisoners. Your friends are spread across the country, but describe the situation as precarious.
“Food is worse than we had. Russia has a terrible economic problem. Prison guards are not happy. There are not enough guards for everyone,” he said, adding that prisoners, especially foreigners, are being informed that if they want to leave, they will have to fight in Ukraine.
Whelan also maintains contact with other unjust former recluses, he said, including Evan Gershkovich, who was released with him last year. Russian-American journalist Alsi Kurmasheva and Putin’s critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, a permanent resident in the US, were also released under the wide exchange of barbs.
There is a feeling of camaraderie among the former recluses, said Whelan, comparing him to the “Island of Missing toys” of the Christmas movie “Rudolph, the red nose reindeer”.
“It’s a unique club of people from different backgrounds that were gathered not by their own choice, and we shared experiences,” said Whelan.
Thinking about how you will celebrate a year’s birthday of your release, Whelan said, “There’s a special whiskey bottle that I’ll probably open, and I think I have a cigar box out there.”
