Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was one of several wrongfully-detained Americans who were released from Russian custody on Thursday as part of a multi-country prisoner swap.
The deal, revealed by U.S. Government officials early Thursday morning, also secured the release of U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, among others.
Gershkovich was found guilty of conspiracy and spying last month after a sham three-day trial behind closed doors. The Russian government accused him of espionage on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency, though the government provided no public evidence to support their charges.
He spent 18 months in prison before being released this week. He was forced to fill out paperwork that requested a presidential pardon from Russian leader Vladimir Putin as part of the process. In the paperwork, he apparently asked Putin for a sit-down interview, the Journal reported on Thursday.
“The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy,” President Joseph Biden said on Thursday. “Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.”
All told, 24 prisoners held in six countries were released as part of the deal. Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov was freed as part of the exchange.
“Multiple countries helped get this done,” Biden said. “They joined a difficult, complex negotiation at my request. I personally thank them all again.”
Almar Latour, the CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of the Wall Street Journal, called the news of Gershkovich’s release “amazing,” adding that “we didn’t know when that finally would be coming — but today was the day.”
“This is obviously a historic day,” Latour said during an appearance on the Fox News Channel program America Reports. “People are elated. There’s a lot of bottled-up emotions throughout the company, throughout the Wall Street Journal newsroom.” (The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp, which shares common ownership with Fox Corporation, the operator of Fox News Media.)
“Everybody has worked so hard toward this, putting the spotlight on Evan, putting the spotlight on press freedom, making sure that we were talking to policymakers, decision-makers to advance Evan’s cause and to advance the cause of press freedom around the world, particularly in places where that’s very difficult,” Latour concluded.
Latour later condemned what he called the “arbitrary” detention of “our journalists and many, many others around the world.”
“That’s despicable. We condemn it. And it should not happen,” Latour said. “And that condemnation should be globally stronger than ever before. And so you’re absolutely right, and that we will be in places where we can be. We should be reporting from all the world’s hot spots. Information, and reliable information, today is more important than ever before.”
