Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan are among more than a dozen prisoners released by Russia in exchange for Russian prisoners held by the US and other countries in Europe, according to US officials on Thursday.
Under the accord, 16 political prisoners, journalists, and others, including five Germans, will be exchanged for eight Russians imprisoned in the United States, Germany, Norway, Slovenia, and Poland. Among the Russians are Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian state assassin in German jail, and three other Russians in US captivity.
President Biden described the exchange deal as “a diplomatic triumph” and hailed partners who collaborated with the US on it. “This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend on,” according to his statement.
“Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way,” said U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan, adding the exchange was the “culmination of many rounds of complex, painstaking negotiations over many, many months.”
Later on Thursday, Sullivan stated that President Biden will strive to build on his success in attempting to liberate Marc Fogel, a US citizen still detained in Russia, as well as other Americans incarcerated in Syria, Afghanistan, and other locations.
Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan Whelan Head Home
Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan Whelan are among those returning from Russia, as are Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who works for US-funded Radio Free Europe, and Russian journalist and dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, a permanent resident of the United States.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked the Turkish government for “providing a location for the safe return of these individuals to the United States and Germany.”
The Turkish government said in a statement that it had played a key role and “conducted the most extensive prisoner exchange operation of recent times in Ankara,” involving not only Whelan and Gershkovich, but also Rico Krieger, a German mercenary imprisoned in Belarus; Russian dissident Ilya Yashin; and Vadim Krasikov, a colonel in Russia’s internal security service.
According to the statement, MIT, Turkey’s intelligence arm, carried out the operation.
Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Moscow in March 2023, becoming the first American journalist to face espionage charges since the Cold War. Last month, a Russian court sentenced him to 16 years in prison after the Russian prosecutor accused him of collaborating with the CIA to gather intelligence on a Russian arms manufacturer.
Gershkovich, his company, and the US government all refuted the claims, and the US believed Gershkovich was unlawfully jailed.
In a statement, Wall Street Journal editor in chief Emma Tucker stated, “We can finally say, in unison, ‘Welcome home, Evan.'”
Paul Whelan, a Marine Corps veteran with US, British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship, was arrested in Russia in December 2018 on espionage charges that he vigorously rejected. On June 15, 2020, a Moscow court condemned Paul Whelan to sixteen years in jail.
Wrongfully imprisoned in Russia
In a statement issued on Thursday, his family stated that “Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days.” His case was that of an American in danger, kept captive by the Russian Federation as part of their heinous attempt to use humans as pawns to extort concessions… While wrongfully imprisoned in Russia, Paul lost his home.
He lost his job. We don’t know how someone overcomes their losses and returns to society after being a captive. We appreciate everyone’s efforts to aid Paul while he was overseas. We hope you will continue to help Paul by giving him the space and privacy he requires as he rebuilds his life. It is Paul’s story to tell, and he will tell it when he is ready.”
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy hailed the release of Whelan and Kara-Murza, both of whom are British citizens. “Mr Kara-Murza is a dedicated opponent of Putin’s regime,” Lammy said in a statement. “He should never have been in prison in the first place: the Russian authorities imprisoned him in life-threatening conditions because he courageously told the truth about the war in Ukraine.”
According to Stephen Capus, president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Alsu Kurmasheva’s employer, “Alsu was targeted because she was an American journalist who was simply trying to care for a family member inside Russia.”
She did nothing wrong, and she certainly did not deserve the unfair treatment and forced separation from her loving family and colleagues. Alsu’s release strengthens our resolve to free three other RFE/RL journalists imprisoned in Belarus and Russian-occupied Crimea. We will not rest until all of our unjustly detained journalists return home safely. Journalism isn’t a crime.”
Pavel Butorin, Kurmasheva’s spouse, told NPR that Thursday was “the happiest day of our lives.”
The CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, Jodie Ginsberg, stated that Kurmasheva and Gershkovich were “detained and sentenced on spurious charges intended to punish them for their journalism and stifle independent reporting.” Their release is great, but it does not change the fact that Russia continues to repress the free press.
According to President Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the president spoke with the liberated inmates on the tarmac in Ankara on Thursday as they waited to board their flight back. He stated that Biden and Vice President Harris will be present at Joint Base Andrews on Thursday night, when a jet carrying Whelan, Gershkovich, and Kurmasheva would land.
Kurmasheva’s husband said that her two girls “have shown incredible courage” during her incarceration. “They have actually become the best supporters of the free Alsu cause.
Not only will Alsu see that they have gotten taller, but he will also discover two young women who are more mature and firm about their own rights to free speech and expression as Americans. And it is primarily due to them, my daughters, that her family has survived this trauma.”
