Russian authorities have released Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and U.S. Marine veteran Paul Whelan as part of a complex prisoner swap with the U.S., Germany, and three other nations.
The U.S. government considers Gershkovich and Whelan to have been wrongfully detained on false espionage charges, and both will be headed to locations outside of Russia. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist detained on dubious charges, is also being freed as part of the deal.
“Today, three American citizens and one American green-card holder who were unjustly imprisoned in Russia are finally coming home: Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
“The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy. All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia—including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country. Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years.”
The U.S. will be returning at least a dozen prisoners to Russia as part of the deal. Several Russian nationals with suspected ties to Russian intelligence will be given back, including Vadim Krasikov, the hitman behind a 2019 murder in Germany believed to have been ordered by Russian authorities.
Gershkovich and the other Americans arrived in Ankara, Turkey at 11:20 eastern time Thursday morning, the Journal confirmed in its report confirming the prisoner swap.
“This is a historical day for The Wall Street Journal,” Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker told a jubilant newsroom full of reporters in announcing Gershkovich’s release.
“At the same time, we condemn in the strongest terms Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, which orchestrated Evan’s 491-day wrongful imprisonment based on sham accusations and a fake trial as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth. Unfortunately, many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world,” Tucker and Journal publisher Almar Latour said in a statement.
Last year, Gershkovich, 32, became the first U.S. journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, as tensions grew over the Russian war against Ukraine. The U.S. and the Journal have strongly denied the accusations against Gershkovich, and Russia never publicized any evidence to back them up.
Two weeks ago, Russian authorities sentenced him to 16 years in prison after a secret trial that was largely a forgone conclusion before it even began. Gershkovich spent a year detained in Russia’s notoriously brutal Lefortovo prision before being moved to a different facility for the trial.
“I have had no higher priority than seeking the release and safe return of Evan, Paul Whelan and all Americans wrongfully detained and held hostage abroad. Evan has endured his ordeal with remarkable strength. We will not cease in our efforts to bring him home,” Biden said in a statement upon Gershkovich’s sentencing.
In an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson earlier this year, Russian president Vladimir Putin expressed openness to exchanging Gershkovich after Carlson pressed him on the issue.
Whelan was arrested in 2018 when he traveled to Russia for a wedding, and two years later received a 16-year prison sentence. Controversially, Whelan was left out of past prison swaps with Russia, such as the deal involving WNBA star Brittney Griner and Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Whelan and his family have strongly denied the espionage charges against him.
“Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days. His case was that of an American in peril, held by the Russian Federation as part of their blighted initiative to use humans as pawns to extract concessions. Our family is grateful that members of Congress from both sides of the aisle expressed concern for Paul as an American, regardless of politics,” Whelan’s family said in a statement.
Biden addressed the nation Thursday afternoon on the release of the American prisoners from Russia, thanking U.S. allies and vowing to continue working on getting wrongfully detailed Americans back home.
“Deals like this one come with tough calls. There are never any guarantees,” Biden said. “There’s nothing that matters more to me protecting Americans at home and abroad and so we’ll continue to work for the release of all wrongfully detained Americans around the world.”
The families of the three American prisoners and one permanent U.S. resident, Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, were present at Biden’s speech.