Paul Whelan’s family is worried about him because he missed his regularly scheduled phone call with them and the U.S. embassy on Thursday. Whelan is in a Russian prison and normally speaks with his family every Thursday. John Kirby, NSC spokesman, said that the White House is also worried about this development.

Whelan, a former Marine, has been in the news in recent months because he is reported to be a part of a potential prisoner swap between the United States and Russia. The release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and Whelan is allegedly being negotiated in exchange for two imprisoned Russians. Whelan is a former Marine who was arrested in Moscow while in the city for a wedding in 2018. He is serving time in a Russian prison on charges of espionage. He has been held at Correctional Colony 17, a prison camp in the Mordovia region about 300 miles from Moscow, for more than two years. He has been in detention for a total of nearly four years.

Paul Whelan was arrested in 2018 by Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges which his family and the U.S. government have maintained are fabricated charges. There are questions now about where he is being held and about his physical condition.

‘We have been trying to get more information about Mr. Whelan’s condition and his whereabouts. And as we speak this morning, regrettably, we do not have an update specifically about where he is or what condition he’s in,’ White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a telephone briefing on Wednesday.

‘We have been trying to get more information about Mr. Whelan’s condition and his whereabouts. And as we speak this morning, regrettably, we do not have an update specifically about where he is or what condition he’s in,’ White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters in a telephone briefing on Wednesday.

David Whelan, Paul’s brother, said camp authorities said they moved Paul to a prison hospital. No other information was provided. The family is worried he may have suffered some kind of medical emergency or that prison authorities are lying about his whereabouts. Is he being held in solitary confinement? His family is concerned about his safety.

“We’re concerned that he may have either some emergency medical issue that is not being disclosed or that he is in fact still at IK-17 and has been placed in solitary as retaliation for something,” David Whelan said in an email statement.

“Paul was not complaining of any health conditions that required hospitalization, so has there been an emergency? He appeared healthy and well to the Embassy staff,” David Whelan wrote.

“If Paul’s at the prison hospital, why is he being prohibited from making phone calls that every prisoner is allowed to make? Is he unable to make calls? Or is he really still at IK-17 but he’s been put in solitary and the prison is hiding that fact,” he wrote.

He said the prison had previously sent Whelan to the hospital against his will, sometimes as a punishment. Previously, however, Whelan noted that his brother had always told them when he was being sent to the hospital, David Whelan said.

Whelan’s Russian lawyer, Vladimir Zherebenkov, told ABC News that Whelan had a medical check up two weeks ago which suggested no issues.

That sounds ominous. Zherebenkov said the call was not made because either there are technical issues or Whelan was being punished.

The last time officials from the United States spoke with him was on November 16. U.S. embassy officials spoke with him, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. ‘We actually had a visit with him. We spoke on the phone with him I think – roughly around the same time. We’ve not had contact since then. We’ve asked for it. We’re pursuing it single day.’ David Whelan said he was told Paul was moved to the hospital on November 17.

Whelan’s parents spoke with him on a call on November 23. He didn’t mention any medical issues when the U.S. embassy staff visited him on Nov. 16. ‘If Paul’s at the prison hospital, why is he being prohibited from making phone calls that every prisoner is allowed to make? Is he unable to make calls? Or is he really still at IK-17 but he’s been put in solitary and the prison is hiding that fact,’ David Whelan said.

It brings the prisoner swap into question. Talks have stalled recently and Russian officials are angry that leaks in the press about the negotiations brought attention to the process. The circumstances of Whelan’s detention are different than Brittney Griner’s. She was in possession of vape cannisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage and charged with drug possession. Whelan was arrested in his hotel on espionage charges. Russian authorities claim he had confidential documents in his room.

“It’s a bit tragic,” David Whelan said in an interview with NPR. “The night of the wedding, before the wedding even started, he was entrapped by the security services, by a friend who he had had in Russia.

“And he disappeared. And that’s when we first learned about it.”

Whelan has since claimed his arrest was a political stunt, according to ABC News and he said, “The guards call me ‘Tourist.'”

There are almost Cold War vibes with Whelan’s case. Drumming up phony espionage charges against an American in Moscow is the kind of storyline we are familiar with in movies, right? But, this isn’t make believe. Whelan may be in dire straits, we just don’t know. The Biden administration doesn’t exactly have a stellar record on returning Americans home from being detained overseas. Putin’s war in Ukraine complicates everything, too. We have to hope that Whelan isn’t being punished for U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine.