Russia releases Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan in historic prisoner swap with West
Last edited Thu Aug 1, 2024, 10:56 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: CNN Politics
Updated 11:46 AM EDT, Thu August 1, 2024
CNN — The United States and Russia carried out a historic prisoner exchange Thursday when two dozen detainees, including former US Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, were released as part of a sweeping deal that involved at least seven countries.
Thursday’s massive swap was the result of years of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the US, Russia, Belarus and Germany, ultimately leading Berlin to agree to release Moscow’s key demand – convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov.
A total of eight people including Krasikov were swapped back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including four Americans. In addition to Whelan and Gershkovich, prominent Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is a US permanent resident, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva were also freed.
“Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way and there has never, so far as we know, been an exchange involving so many countries, so many close US partners and allies working together,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Thursday. President Joe Biden gathered the families of Whelan, Gershkovich, Kurmasheva and Kara-Murza at the White House on Thursday to relay the news that their loved ones were heading home, Sullivan said.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/01/politics/russia-us-prisoner-swap/index.html
Article updated.
Previous articles/headlines -
Updated 9:30 AM EDT, Thu August 1, 2024
CNN -- A large-scale prisoner swap between the US and Russia is under way, according to a source familiar, and it is expected to include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a number of Americans. The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and the prisoners are expected to be in the care of US officials, according to a senior administration official.
The exchange is anticipated to be completed Thursday. The deal would end a nightmare that lasted more than five years for Whelan and more than a year for Gershkovich. Both men were designated by the US State Department as wrongfully detained.
Thursday's swap comes after months of quiet and complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington, which included US diplomats scouring the globe for offers to entice Russia to release the Americans. Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. He was found guilty of espionage by a Russian court on July 19 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial that the US government, his newspaper and supporters have denounced as a sham.
Whelan - who is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen - was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation.
CNN -- A large-scale prisoner swap between the US and Russia is under way, according to a source familiar, and it is expected to include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a number of Americans. The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and the prisoners are expected to be in the care of US officials, according to a senior administration official.
The deal would end a nightmare that lasted more than five years for Whelan and more than a year for Gershkovich. Both men were designated by the US State Department as wrongfully detained. Thursday's swap comes after months of quiet and complicated negotiations between Moscow and Washington, which included US diplomats scouring the globe for offers to entice Russia to release the Americans.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg. He was found guilty of espionage by a Russian court on July 19 and sentenced to 16 years in prison in a trial that the US government, his newspaper and supporters have denounced as a sham.
Whelan - who is a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen - was detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 by Russian authorities who alleged he was involved in an intelligence operation.
CNN -- A large-scale prisoner swap between the US and Russia is under way, according to a source familiar, and it is expected to include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a number of Americans.
The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and the prisoners are expected to be in US custody soon, according to a senior administration official.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
Original article/headline -
Updated 8:34 AM EDT, Thu August 1, 2024
CNN -- There is expected to be a large-scale prisoner swap between the US and Russia, including a number of Americans, according to a source familiar.
Both Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan are expected to be included in the swap.
The parties have agreed to a prisoner transfer and that prisoners are expected to be in US custody soon, according to a senior administration official.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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