A Michigan native held captive in Russia for over five years is facing some rough obstacles since returning home.
Russia imprisoned Paul Whelan on bogus espionage charges. He was released this summer in a massive prisoner exchange.
But Whelan has had trouble back in Michigan resuming his life. He did not qualify for state unemployment or insurance benefits.
Whelan says he’s receiving income from a GoFundMe account, Detroit auto dealers leased him a vehicle, and private practitioners have offered medical and dental assistance.
WHELAN: “I really appreciate that. But I also think that...especially in my situation where I was only held because I was an American citizen...that the American government needs to do more and have more in place. So when people like me come home...there’s more lined-up to help with the reintegration.”
Congress is working to provide additional help for wrongful detainees like Whelan.
That includes improving a federal law that is supposed to assist returning detainees, which Congress has never actually funded.
