Washington, Aug 2 (IANS): American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan were released by Russia on Thursday in an exchange of prisoners that has been described as the largest since the height of the Cold War.
At least two dozen detainees were involved in the swap with prisoners released from seven countries -- the US, Norway, Germany, Poland, Russia, Belarus and Slovenia. The deal was mediated by Turkey and took place at the Ankara airport.
"The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy," President Joe Biden said, announcing the exchange. “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. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over," he said.
"And let me be clear: I will not stop working until every American wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world is reunited with their family. My administration has now brought home over 70 such Americans, many of whom were in captivity since before I took office," President Biden added.
Gershkovich, the 32-year-old correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, was arrested by Russian authorities in March 2023 on the charges of espionage. He was convicted last month and sentenced to 16 years in a high-security prison.
Whelan, the 54-year-old ex-Marine, was arrested in Russia in December 2018 on espionage charges and was serving a 16-year jail term. Vladimir Kara-Murza, a British-Russian dissident and Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison on treason-related charges was also released from prison.
Biden was with the families of Whelan, Gershkovich and Kara-Murza at the White House while the exchange was underway in Ankara, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, told reporters.
The most notable Russian prisoner released in the exchange was Vadim Krasikov, who was jailed for life in Germany for the 2019 murder in Berlin of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former Chechen separatist leader. The Germans were reluctant to release him but, according to reports, Biden personally got involved and called Chancellor Olaf Scholz.