wall street journal On September 19, 2023, in Moscow, journalist Ivan Gershkovich stood in the glass dock of the Moscow City Court.
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Three U.S. citizens and one lawful permanent resident will return home from Russia as part of a massive prisoner exchange, one of the largest such exchanges since the end of the Cold War.
protocol announced on thursday It involves at least 16 political prisoners imprisoned in Russia in exchange for eight Russians imprisoned in the United States, Germany, Norway, Poland and Slovenia.
Those released include American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia last year and accused of espionage, and former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned by Russia since 2018.
“Some of these men have been unjustly imprisoned for years. All have endured unimaginable pain and uncertainty,” President Biden said in a statement announcing the prisoner exchange. “This is a powerful example of why Having friends you can trust and rely on is crucial in this world.”
Here’s what we know about the people who were fired:
Evan Gershkovich
wall street journal On June 26, journalist Evan Gershkovich stood in the glass dock at the court in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
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Gershkovic is a reporter for the Daily Mail wall street journal He was detained in Russia on March 29, 2023, while on assignment for the newspaper. He was detained by Russia’s Federal Security Service in the city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. In July, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Gershkovich — the American-born son of Soviet-era immigrants — and wall street journal He has always denied the charges against him. The U.S. government did the same, finding Gershkovic wrongfully detained.
Vladimir Kara-Murza
On July 31, 2023, when the Moscow City Court announced the appeal verdict, Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza stood in the court’s glass cage and gestured.
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Kara Murza is an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and Pulitzer Prize winner Washington post In 2023, authorities charged him with treason and spreading “false” information about the Russian military, and he was sentenced to 25 years in prison in a Russian penal colony.
He has long spoken out against the Kremlin’s policy of assassinating political opponents and has angered Russian authorities by calling on Western governments to sanction Moscow over human rights abuses.
In 2022, he was interviewed by CNN in Moscow, calling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government a “murderer regime.” Within hours, he was arrested.
Arsu Kumasheva
On April 1, Alsu Kurmasheva, editor of the Tatar-Bashkir service of the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, attended a court hearing in Kazan, Russia.
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Kurmasheva is a Russian-American journalist who works for the federally funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She was arrested in October and charged with spreading “false information” about the Russian military.
She was also charged with failing to register as a foreign agent. Last month, she was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison after a trial that reportedly lasted only two days. Her family, her employers and the U.S. government have all denied the charges against her.
Paul Whelan
Paul Whelan looks out through the glass of his cage in a Moscow courtroom on January 22, 2019.
Pavel Golovkin/AP
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Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, was arrested on December 28, 2018, when he went to attend the wedding of a Marine to a Russian woman. Russian authorities accused Whelan of espionage, and he was convicted in June 2020 and subsequently sentenced to 16 years in prison.
He was arrested at Moscow’s upscale Metropolitan Hotel after a friend gave him a thumb drive he thought contained photos of Russian churches but actually contained “state secrets,” according to his lawyer. Whelan maintains his innocence and the U.S. government says he was convicted on trumped-up charges.
“Russia said they captured James Bond on a spy mission,” Whelan said during a memorable court appearance in 2019. “In fact, they kidnapped Mr. Bean on holiday.”
12 German nationals will also be released
A dozen German nationals who had been political prisoners in Russia were also released. They include:
Liliya Chanysheva, Kseniya Fadeyeva, Rico Krieger, Kevin Lick, Herman Moyzhes, Oleg Orlov, Vadim Ostanin, Andrey Pivovarov, Patrick Schoebel, Sasha Skochilenko, Dieter Voronin and Ilya Yashin.
US releases 3 Russians
Eight Russians are set to return home as part of a prisoner exchange. Three people will be released from US prisons: Vladislav Klyushin, Vadim Konoszchenok and Roman Seleznev.
Klyushin In 2023, the Russian businessman was sentenced to nine years in prison for an “orchestrated hacking and trading” scheme that netted the Russian businessman $93 million. The Justice Department said Klyushin made those profits through transactions based on confidential corporate intelligence stolen from U.S. computer networks.
KonosenokLast year, an alleged Russian intelligence operative was extradited to the United States from Estonia to face charges in an alleged procurement and money-laundering scheme. The Justice Department said he was “a key participant in a program to provide sensitive U.S.-made electronics and munitions to further Russia’s war efforts and weapons development.”
Seleznev Currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for running a massive credit card and identity theft operation. Federal prosecutors say his crimes resulted in the theft and resale of more than 2 million credit card numbers, resulting in losses of at least $170 million but possibly billions of dollars. His victims included more than 4,000 financial institutions and businesses around the world.
In addition to those released from U.S. prisons, five others will be released from Germany, Norway, Poland and Slovenia. German authorities have agreed to release Russian state assassination suspect Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence for the 2019 killing of a Georgian citizen of Chechen origin in Berlin.
Norway to release Mikhail Valeryvich Mikushin; Poland to release Pavel Alexeevich Rubtsov; Slovenian authorities to release Anna Valerev Anna Valerevna Dultseva and Artem Viktorovich Dultsev.
