Paul Whelan wasn’t part of the prisoner exchange that brought WNBA star Brittney Griner home. Here’s why he is still in a Russian prison.

RELATED: Brittney Griner arrives in Texas after prisoner swap with Russia | USA TODAY https://bit.ly/3HmKU3W

Republicans in Congress and advocates for Americans detained abroad questioned the administration’s decision to agree to a prisoner swap in which the U.S. freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Griner’s release.

Critics said the administration should have demanded that Paul Whelan, the ex-Marine imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, also be freed as a condition of the deal.

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