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Paul Whelan’s family have welcomed the release of Brittney Griner from Russian custody, but say they are “devastated” that he was left behind.
Ms Griner is on her way home after US authorities negotiated a prisoner swap for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
White House officials told CNN on Wednesday that their Russian counterparts had refused to include Mr Whelan, a former US Marine who has spent four years in custody, in the deal.
In a statement, David Whelan said: “I can’t even fathom how Paul will feel when he learns. Paul has worked so hard to survive nearly four years of this injustice.
“His hopes had soared with the knowledge that the US government was taking concrete steps for once towards his release. He’d been worrying about where he’d live when he got back to the US.”
Breaking more to come
