Wall Avenue Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two others arrived dwelling to the US late Thursday night time after a landmark prisoner change with Russia.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greeted the group at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. These freed embrace former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, 54, who was arrested in 2018; Alsu Kurmasheva, 47, a Russian-American editor for Radio Free Europe, who was arrested final yr; and Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42, a political activist, journalist and everlasting U.S. resident who was arrested in April 2022.
Gershkovich, Whelan and Kurmasheva all touched down simply after 11:30 p.m. Japanese time and have been greeted by their households. Kara-Murza was scheduled to go to Germany first earlier than coming to the U.S. at a later date.
Their launch ended a years-long saga for some amid Russian President Vladimir Putin’s coverage of hostage diplomacy. The deal, which concerned seven international locations, has been hailed as the most important of its measurement because the fall of the Soviet Union.
Russia launched a complete of 16 individuals whereas different nations agreed at hand over eight to Moscow, a lot of whom had been convicted of great crimes. Essentially the most infamous was Vadim Kraskiov, a convicted murderer freed by Germany. He had been recognized as a key piece of the puzzle by the Kremlin.
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Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on allegations of espionage, costs he and the Journal fiercely denied. He was imprisoned for 16 months after being sentenced in a secret trial to 16 years in a penal colony.
His household thanked Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, in addition to “every U.S. or foreign government official who helped get Evan released.”
“We have waited 491 days for Evan’s release, and it’s hard to describe what today feels like,” his household stated in a press release after the deal was made public. “We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. Most important now is taking care of Evan and being together again. No family should have to go through this, and so we share relief and joy today with Paul and Alsu’s families.”
One household that won’t be reunited after the prisoner change is that of Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny. He was certainly one of Putin’s greatest critics and survived a poisoning in 2020 solely to be sentenced to serve greater than 30 years in jail.
He all of the sudden died in jail in February on the age of 47.
His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, stated Thursday that each “released political prisoner is a huge victory and a reason to celebrate.”
“No one should be held hostage by Putin, subjected to torture, or left to die in his prisons,” Navalnaya stated in a press release.
Harris stated she spoke to her following the discharge.
“I thanked Yulia for her courage in continuing her husband’s work and reaffirmed my commitment to stand with those fighting for freedom in Russia and around the world,” the vp wrote on the X social media platform.
