US President Joe Biden has celebrated the return of three Americans who were imprisoned in Russian penal colonies after secret “sham” trials. They were freed as part of a significant East-West prisoner swap.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris greeted the plane carrying the detainees when it landed in Maryland on Thursday. Harris described it as “an extraordinary day.”
Among the released Americans are Wall Street Journal Moscow correspondent Evan Gershkovich and car parts executive Paul Whelan, both serving 16-year sentences on spying charges the US claims were fabricated. Alsu Kurmasheva, a reporter for a US-funded radio network in Europe, was also freed. She had been sentenced to six and a half years for “spreading false information” about the Russian military. Additionally, British-Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize winner sentenced to 25 years for treason in 2023, was released.
This swap took place despite strained relations between Washington and Moscow, exacerbated by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
A joyous day for American families
Türkiye coordinated the swap, its intelligence agency revealed, with the American and German prisoners initially taken to Ankara before returning home.
Eight Russians held in the US, Germany, Poland, Norway, and Slovenia were also released. Among them was Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, jailed in Germany for a 2019 murder in a Berlin park.
Mr. Gershkovich’s family expressed their anticipation in a statement, eager to reunite with him. The Wall Street Journal’s editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, called it a “joyous day,” expressing gratitude for the support and welcoming Evan home.
Putin promises State Awards
Russian President Vladimir Putin met the returning prisoners in Moscow and announced they would receive state awards. He personally greeted Krasikov upon his arrival. Inside the airport, Putin expressed his pleasure and assured the returnees of future discussions about their roles.
Earlier, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev remarked that traitors should remain in prison but acknowledged the importance of bringing Russian citizens home, hinting at the utility of the exchange for Moscow.
Six countries release prisoners
The swap saw prisoners released by six countries. Russia received two alleged sleeper agents from Slovenia, three men charged by US federal authorities, including hacker Roman Seleznev and suspected intelligence operative Vadim Konoshchenok, as well as an academic arrested in Norway and a man detained in Poland on espionage charges.
President Biden highlighted the importance of international friendships in achieving such outcomes. The Biden administration has now secured the release of over 70 Americans detained abroad, often in exchange for convicted criminals. These swaps, though celebrated, have faced criticism for potentially encouraging future hostage-taking and giving adversaries leverage over the US and its allies.
Journal editor Emma Tucker acknowledged this debate, calling for a change to the dynamic but expressing relief and joy over Evan’s return.
Inside the airport building, Putin, who looked visibly pleased, told the returnees:
“All of you will be presented with state awards. I will see you again, we will talk about your future,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, commenting on the prisoner exchange, said that traitors to his country should rot and die in prison, but that it was more useful for Moscow to get its own people home.
“And let the traitors now feverishly adopt new names and actively disguise themselves under witness protection programmes,” Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel.
Six countries release at least one prisoner
Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents jailed in Slovenia, as well as three men charged by federal authorities in the US, including Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker, and Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative accused of providing American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military.
Norway returned an academic arrested on suspicions of being in a Russian spy; Poland sent back a man it detained on espionage charges.
“Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world,” Mr Biden said earlier.
All told, six countries released at least one prisoner.
The Biden administration has now brought home more than 70 Americans detained in other countries as part of deals that have required the US to give up a broad array of convicted criminals, including for drug and weapons offences.
The swaps, though celebrated with fanfare, have spurred criticism that they incentivise future hostage-taking and give adversaries leverage over the US and its allies.
Tucker, the Journal’s editor-in-chief, acknowledged the debate, writing in a letter: “We know the US government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice.”
Though she called for a change to the dynamic, “for now,” she wrote, “we are celebrating the return of Evan.”
