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Former United States Marine Pole StandVol. strit magazine reporter Evan Guskovich Russian-American journalist Alsha Kurmasheva returned to the United States as part of a prisoner swap with Russia, and the three were greeted by U.S. President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the Andrews base near Washington, U.S. media reported.
The White House said Thursday they were returning to the United States as part of an emergency swap of 24 prisoners involving Russia, the United States and several other countries, the largest such exchange since the Cold War and in which President Joe Biden was directly involved.
Gershkovic and Whelan were then taken to San Antonio Brooke Military Medical Center at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for treatment, ABC reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier Thursday that Gershkovic and Whelan had been released and were returning to the United States.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the prisoner exchange agreement was the result of months of difficult negotiations.
Biden said Thursday that the released prisoners had been unjustly imprisoned for years and had suffered “unimaginable pain and uncertainty.”
Biden noted that the agreement to release them was “a feat of diplomacy and friendship.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Thursday pardoning citizens swapped from Russia, including U.S. Marines and journalists Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.
The Kremlin website said, “Vladimir Putin signed the decree on the pardon of Veran Paul Nicholas, Kevin Viktorovich, Evan Gershkovich, Voronin Demuri Ilyich, Kara-Murza Vladimir Viktorovich, Kurmasheva Arsa Khamidovna, Chanisheva Lilia Eratovna, Ostanin Vadim Valeryevich…” RIA Novosti reported.
It is noteworthy that the decision to sign the decree was made with the aim of repatriating Russian citizens imprisoned on the territory of foreign countries.
American journalist Gershkovich was sentenced to 16 years’ strict prison in Russia in July in a controversial trial over allegations of espionage.
Prosecutors asked for an 18-year prison sentence.
Gershkovich is a 32-year-old American journalist who was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges brought against him by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
According to the indictment, Gershkovich gathered information on the Ural Vehicle and Weapons Plant on behalf of the CIA.
Veran was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020 for alleged espionage and eventually served five years.
Kurmasheva, who holds dual U.S.-Russian citizenship, was arrested by Russian authorities in 2023 for failing to register as a foreign agent.
(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)
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