Paul Whelan, an American imprisoned in Russia, appears in a new video

Paul Whelan is seen in new video released by the Russian state-controlled outlet Russia Today. Russia Today/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

toggle caption Russia Today/Screenshot by NPR

Paul Whelan is seen in new video released by the Russian state-controlled outlet Russia Today.

Russia Today/Screenshot by NPR

Detained American has appeared in a new video taken inside a prison camp in Russia.

In the video released Monday by the state-controlled outlet Russia Today, Whelan is shown in a prison uniform standing among other prisoners, operating a sewing machine and eating with others.

Whelan declines to answer questions from the RT reporter: "So you understand when I say that I can't do an interview, which means I can't answer any questions," he says .

Whelan, a Marine Corps veteran, has been detained in Russia since 2018. In 2020 he was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges he strongly denies.

"I wish I could see Paul under better circumstances. But it was good to see him again and to see the fight remains in his eyes. It is good to know Paul remains unbowed," David Whelan added.

The U.S. State Department considers Whelan to be wrongfully detained. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in March. that Whelan's detention was one of the topics of their talks, and that the U.S. was "determined to bring Paul and every other American citizen who is unjustly detained around the world home."

The White House said on Tuesday that U.S. officials have spoken with Whelan in the last several months.

"It was reassuring to see that he remains, and this is to use his brother's words, 'unbowed.' Paul continues to show tremendous courage," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "His circumstances are truly unacceptable and we will continue to be very clear about that. Russia should release him immediately."

Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants' cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran accused of espionage and arrested in Russia in December 2018, stands inside a defendants' cage as he waits to hear his verdict in Moscow on June 15, 2020.

Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

WNBA player Brittney Griner, who was held in Russia for nearly 10 months last year over possession of less than a gram of hash oil, was released in for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. There was initial hope that Whelan could have been freed in that deal as well, but .

Marine veteran Trevor Reed in April 2022 for jailed pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko. Reed was detained during a trip to Russia in 2019 and accused of attacking a Moscow police officer, which his family denied.

reporter in Russia since March on espionage charges the newspaper and U.S. government say are false. The U.S. considers Gershkovich wrongfully detained.

Other cases include musician Jimmy Wilgus, who has been detained since 2016 on what his family says are ; Thomas Stwalley, imprisoned on what are false charges of intent to distribute marijuana; and Marc Fogel, for possession of medical marijuana. Families of Wilgus and Fogel want the U.S. to designate them as wrongfully detained as well.

David Whelan said his brother "has remained aware that his cause is not forgotten, that his freedom remains a priority for the White House."

"I remain positive and confident on a daily basis that the wheels are turning. I just wish they would turn a little bit more quickly," Paul Whelan .