United States and Russia are reportedly negotiating a high-stakes prisoner swap months before election. Russia has agreed to release four...
United States and Russia are reportedly negotiating a high-stakes prisoner swap months before election.
Russia has agreed to release four high-profile detainees – Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza – as part of an unprecedented multi-country prisoner exchange.
They are expected to arrive in the United States by nightfall.
The Released Detainees
- Evan Gershkovich: The Wall Street Journal reporter was arrested in March 2023 on espionage charges, which he and his employer vehemently denied.
- Paul Whelan: A former U.S. Marine detained since 2018, Whelan was serving a 16-year sentence for alleged espionage. Recall, Joe Biden announced he traded the world’s most wanted fugitive, Russian Viktor Bout, AKA, the “Merchant of Death” for pot-smoking anti-American baller Brittney Griner instead of Marine veteran Whelan.
- Alsu Kurmasheva: A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship, Kurmasheva was detained in October 2023 on charges of failing to register as a “foreign agent.”
- Vladimir Kara-Murza: A prominent Russian opposition figure and journalist, Kara-Murza was serving a 25-year sentence for treason and spreading “false information” about the Russian military.
“The president is gathering the families of Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House to share with them the news that an exchange is underway to secure the release of their loved ones from Russia,” Sullivan told reporters on Thursday morning per ABC News.
Biden is expected to speak at noon.
“All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,” Biden said in a statement.
WATCH:
BREAKING: Americans released in prisoner swap: Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and Vladimir Kara-Murza. pic.twitter.com/UkrZXYMmue
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 1, 2024
ABC reported:
The deal is a significant and hard-fought win for the Biden administration, which has secured the release of more than 60 hostages or wrongful detainees from around the world over the past three years. Few cases have received a similar level of prominence or scrutiny as the ones in Russia, a longstanding geopolitical rival of the U.S. with a history of taking — and trading — foreign detainees.
“All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,” President Biden said in a statement.
Under the terms of the agreement, 12 political dissidents held in Russia have been released to Germany. Kremlin critic and Washington Post contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza is expected to be flown to the U.S. Kara-Murza is a British-Russian citizen and a green card holder. His family lives in the U.S.
In return, Russia will receive eight of its nationals, including three that were being held in U.S. prisons: Vadim Konoshchenok, Vladislav Klyushin and Roman Seleznyov.
Two Russians held in Slovenia, one in Poland and another in Norway are also headed home. All have known or suspected ties to Russian intelligence, according to U.S. officials.
Key among the prisoners returned to Russia, according to American officials familiar with the talks, was Vadim Krasikov, a convicted murderer who was sentenced to life in prison by a German court in 2021 for killing a Georgian asylee who had fought against Russians in Chechnya. German judges said the killing had been ordered by Russian federal authorities and called it “state terrorism.”
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