US President Joe Biden said Thursday that the country will not give up negotiating for the release of another American detained in Russia amid a high-level prisoner swap involving Brittney Griner and notorious arms dealer Victor Bout.

“Sadly and for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up,” Biden said as he announced the release of the basketball star who was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing cannabis oil.

Also Read | Donald Trump refuses to condemn Kanye West despite Jewish allies urging him to do so

Biden said officials were in touch with Whelan’s family.

“We’ll keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release. I guarantee that,” he said.

Who is Paul Whelan?

Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, has been serving 16 years in the Russian region of Mordovia on charges of espionage. He was detained in 2018 and convicted two years later. However, Whelan denies the allegations against him.

Whelan was born on March 5, 1970, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The 52-year-old was in law enforcement from 1988 to 2000 as a police officer in Chelsea, Michigan. He was also a sheriff’s deputy in Washtenaw County, according to a deposition Whelan gave in 2013. However, the Washtenaw County sheriff reported no record of his employment.

A former colleague said he was a patrol officer from 1998 to 2000 in the Keego Harbor police department. He was an IT manager for the Kelly Services staffing company from 2001 to 2003, and then 2008 to 2010.

From 2010 to 2016 Whelan was Kelly Services’ senior manager of global security and operations. He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in 1994.

Also Read | Who is Viktor Bout, Russian arms dealer swapped for Brittney Griner?

He was with the Marine Corps Reserve from 2003 to 2008, including service in Iraq. He held the rank of staff sergeant with Marine Air Control Group 38 working as an administrative clerk and administrative chief.

In 2008, he had a court-martial conviction on multiple counts “related to larceny.” He was sentenced to 60 days restriction, reduction to pay grade E-4, and a bad conduct discharge.

At the time of his arrest in Russia, Whelan was was director of global security and investigations for BorgWarner.

In a 2013 deposition, he said that he holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and an MBA degree. He took courses at Northern Michigan University from fall 1988 to fall 1990 without earning a degree.

Whelan lived in Novi, Michigan, before he was detained and jailed in Russia. He has a twin brother named David.