Today on Capitol Hill, members of the House spoke up for Paul with the passage of bipartisan H.Res.552 on Paul Whelan's behalf. We are deeply grateful for the efforts of Representatives Haley Stevens and Tim Walberg of Michigan, who have been stalwart supporters of Paul Whelan since his wrongful arrest, along with the Michigan delegation in general. And we welcomed the strong statements on the House floor by Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, House Committee on Foreign Affairs chairman Rep. Eliot Engel, and Rep. Bill Keating, chair of the Europe, Eurasia and Emerging Threats Subcommittee.
We are grateful for the bi-partisan support for House Resolution 552 [sponsors: https://www.
The UK Consul and Embassy staff met with Paul on Thursday [10/17/2019] and shared family messages and checked on his condition. UK staff also asked whether Paul could speak freely in consular visits and he replied that he could not. They have indicated they will follow up with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs since Paul's inability to communicate openly with consular officials and to have confidential meetings with his defense counsel is unacceptable.
Paul's medical condition continues to be of great concern. He has requested that the prison send his medical records to the US, UK, Canadian, and Irish embassies. When he asked the UK representatives if anyone had received them, they indicated that no embassy had received his medical records. Like so much of Paul's mail, it is apparently very difficult for Lefortovo prison to get Russia Post to deliver across town. In the meantime, Paul goes untreated and unexamined, despite the danger that emergency surgery may be necessary at any time.