USA
Russia releases Gershkovich in major prisoner exchange
Emil Forsberg,
Martin Palmborg
Published 2024-08-01 13.45
Russia is now releasing American journalist Evan Gershkovich in a major prisoner exchange.
Former US Marine Paul Whelan and Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza are also released.
A total of 26 people will be included in the exchange, including two children, reports Reuters.
Quick version
American Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich was arrested during a reporting trip in Russia in March 2023. Russian authorities claimed he was gathering classified information on behalf of the United States.
Since then he has been in captivity and was charged on unclear grounds with espionage.
Just a few weeks ago, he was convicted and was to serve a 16-year prison sentence in Russia.
But now he is being released, along with, among others, the former American marine Paul Whelan and the Russian-British journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, sources told Bloomberg.
Imprisoned since 2018
Whelan has been imprisoned in the country since 2018 after he was arrested by the Russian FSB security service at a Moscow hotel.
He too has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage – charges that the US has denied. Whelan is an American, British, Irish and Canadian citizen.
Criticized Putin - got 25 years in prison
In April 2023, Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason, after denouncing the Russian war of invasion against Ukraine.
In May, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his columns in The Washington Post. Kara-Murza has also been poisoned on two occasions, in 2015 and 2017.
CBS News also reports that Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva is also included in the exchange. She has been accused of spreading false information about Russian military activities and was recently sentenced to 6.5 years in prison in Russia.
A total of 26 people are included
In exchange, several Russian citizens are expected to be handed over to Russia. Many of them are said to be connected to Russian intelligence, writes CBS News.
One name raised is Vadim Krasikov. He was sentenced to life in prison after murdering Georgian citizen Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Germany in 2019. The murder was allegedly carried out on behalf of Russian authorities.
The Turkish intelligence service MIT confirms to Reuters that it is coordinating the exchange and that a Russian government plane has landed in the capital, Ankara. A total of 26 people will be included in the exchange, of which two are children, reports Reuters.
Prisoners from seven different countries, including the United States, Russia, Germany and Norway, are included. Ten people are to be handed over to Russia, thirteen to Germany and three to the United States, writes the news agency.
According to sources for Norwegian VG, the suspected spy guest researcher Mikhail Mikusjin is to be included. The trial against him has been scheduled to begin in September.
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