The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and other wrongfully detained Americans in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place.
A New Jersey native, Gershkovich was convicted of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison in what has been widely described as a sham trial.
The Wall Street Journal reporter was detained on a reporting trip in March 2023 in the city of Yekaterinburg.
Russian authorities alleged that Gershkovich was “gathering secret information” at the CIA’s behest about a facility that produces and repairs military equipment.
Prosecutors provided no evidence to support the accusations, which Gershkovich, his employer and the U.S. government adamantly deny.
U.S. citizens jailed on various charges in the country include a vacationing corporate security executive and a dual national visiting her family in Tatarstan.
Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly common with relations sinking to Cold War lows.
Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive, was jailed in Russia on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government have said are baseless.
Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was sentenced her to 6½ years in prison after a secret trial on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.
Also among those being released from Russia are Lilia Chanysheva, a Russian opposition leader, and Vladimir Kara-Muzra, a Russian journalist and contributing columnist for The Washington Post.
Among those being returned to Russia is Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian assassin imprisoned in Germany and several Russian intelligence operatives and hackers held in the United States and Europe.
“We are relieved to know that Evan Gershkovich is a free man from an unjust conviction in a rigged court trial,” said P. Kenneth Burns, president of the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists. “NJ-SPJ also celebrate with our colleagues at the Wall Street Journal, who have done a great job advocating for their reporter while honoring his work at the Journal at the same time.”
“We also want to reiterate to political leaders abroad, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, and here in New Jersey: JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME,” said Burns.
A number of other people who are associated with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s team were among those who were released in the the prisoner exchange.