The United States has successfully negotiated the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, American veteran Paul Whelan, and two other U.S. citizens, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a significant political prisoner exchange with Russia.
This news was confirmed by a senior administration official on Thursday morning.
According to Fox News, the four individuals had been held captive under harsh conditions, their freedom curtailed by the Russian government. President Biden, speaking from the White House, declared, "Their brutal ordeal is over, and they are free," a statement that was met with palpable relief by their families present at the announcement.
Gershkovich, a 32-year-old journalist, was apprehended on March 29, 2023, while on assignment in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg. He was accused of espionage, a charge that both the Biden administration and The Wall Street Journal vehemently denied, labeling it as baseless. Whelan, on the other hand, had been in Russian custody for an extended period. A reliable source disclosed to Fox News that Turkish intelligence officials were instrumental in facilitating the prisoner exchange.
Gershkovich's pre-trial detention was prolonged multiple times, culminating in a conviction for "gathering secret information" in a closed court. He was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony on July 19. Experts and officials had consistently maintained that a prisoner swap was his only chance at freedom once his court proceedings concluded.
"Evan is free and on his way home," announced Almar Latour, CEO of Dow Jones, and Emma Tucker, Editor in Chief of the Wall Street Journal, in a joint statement on Thursday. They added, "He was released today in a multilateral prisoner exchange that took place in Ankara, Turkey, along with Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, among others. We are overwhelmed with relief and elated for Evan and his family, as well as for the others who were released."
Latour and Tucker expressed their condemnation of Vladimir Putins regime in Russia, which they accused of orchestrating Gershkovich's 491-day wrongful imprisonment based on false accusations and a sham trial. They highlighted this as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth, noting that many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world.
The two Wall Street Journal executives also expressed their gratitude to everyone who played a role in securing Gershkovich's release. They specifically thanked the U.S. government, numerous governments worldwide, particularly Germany, global news media organizations, Evan's international network of friends, and their colleagues at The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, and News Corp. They reserved special recognition for Evan's family, who they described as steadfast partners throughout the ordeal.
Before his conviction, Gershkovich spent months in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo prison, a place known for its psychological torture and isolation. Gershkovich, the American-born son of Soviet immigrants, was the first known Western journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia. He had previously worked for The New York Times, Moscow Times, and Agence France-Presse before joining The Wall Street Journal in 2022. His friends in journalism helped keep his grim ordeal in the spotlight, with #FreeEvan hashtags commonly shared on social media.
The last U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange occurred in December 2022, when basketball player Brittney Griner was freed in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner had been sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for smuggling and possessing cannabis. Like Gershkovich's case, Griner's harsh sentence was seen as Russia effectively taking an American hostage to gain leverage over the U.S.
Gershkovich's arrest and detainment have had a profound impact on journalism, causing a chilling effect. Western outlets, already cautious of Vladimir Putin's authoritarian regime following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, received a clear message that no reporter was safe from being detained or worse. Wall Street Journal chief digital editor Grainne McCarthy sent a memo to staffers noting that Gershkovich had been detained for "70 long weeks" and thanked colleagues for keeping Evans name at the forefront.
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