Paul Whelan says he is ‘disappointed’ that more has not been done to secure his release

Detained American Paul Whelan says he's frustrated the U.S. Government has not done more to secure his release from a Russian prison.

Whelan spoke exclusively to CNN by phone after basketball star Brittney Griner was freed Thursday in a prisoner swap with a convicted Russian arms dealer held in the U.S.

Whelan, a former marine who is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen, was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation. He was convicted and sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison in a trial US officials denounced as unfair.

Whelan told CNN he was surprised he was left behind.

“I was led to believe that things were moving in the right direction, and that the governments were negotiating and that something would happen fairly soon,” he said.