Source: The Guardian
The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been freed from Russian custody as part of a significant prisoner exchange involving numerous foreign citizens held in Russia and several Russian political prisoners.
The exchange, which occurred at Ankara airport on Thursday afternoon, saw eight Russians held in the West returned to Russia. Among them was Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin imprisoned in Germany since 2019 for the murder of a Chechen exile in Berlin. Additionally, deep-cover Russian “illegal” spies arrested in Norway and Slovenia were swapped, along with Russians held on criminal charges in the U.S. Two minors, believed to be the children of the spies jailed in Slovenia, were also returned to Russia.
Footage showed a Russian government plane landing in Ankara before the swap. According to the Turkish presidency, 10 prisoners, including two minors, were relocated to Russia, while 13 prisoners went to Germany and three to the U.S.
Those freed by Russia included Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin.
The Kremlin expressed hope that those leaving Russian jails would stay abroad, referring to them as “enemies.”
“I believe that all our enemies should stay there [abroad], and all those who are not our enemies should return. That’s my point of view,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state-run Tass.
Discussions for the exchange had been ongoing for months, with governments keeping the details confidential to avoid last-minute complications.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting in Ekaterinburg and was sentenced to 16 years for espionage. He pleaded not guilty, and both the Wall Street Journal and the U.S. government dismissed the charges as baseless.
Many observers linked Gershkovich's arrest to a Russian strategy of hostage-taking to pressure Western countries into releasing Russian spies and criminals.
Krasikov's return was a priority for President Vladimir Putin, complicating U.S. efforts to free its prisoners as Germany hesitated to release a convicted murderer. Putin's determination to bring Krasikov back symbolized Russia's commitment to its people.
Whelan, sentenced to 16 years for espionage in 2020, has always maintained his innocence. His family has long pushed for his inclusion in an exchange. Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was also released.
Prominent Russian opposition leader Yashin, sentenced to eight and a half years for denouncing Russian war crimes in Ukraine, and dual Russian-British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza, sentenced to 25 years for high treason, were among the freed political prisoners.
Rico Krieger, a German medic sentenced to death in Belarus for terrorism, was also released. Belarus, an ally of Moscow, may have expedited his trial to facilitate the deal.
There had been speculation that a swap deal, possibly including Gershkovich and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, had been agreed upon in February. However, the exchange was called off after Navalny's sudden death in prison.
The Biden administration expressed relief at securing Gershkovich's release, which had become a contentious issue. During a June presidential debate, Donald Trump claimed he would have quickly freed the journalist if elected.
