WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich released by Russia in prisoner swap; Paul Whelan also being freed

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is free.

Gershkovich and American veteran Paul Whelan are in U.S. custody after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the U.S. and Russia, a senior administration official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday morning. Alsu Kurmasheva, another American citizen, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a green card holder, were also freed.

"Their brutal ordeal is over, and they are free," President Biden said at the White House, flanked by their family members.

The Wall Street Journal posted a triumphant picture of their newly freed colleague.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. The Biden administration declared him "wrongfully detained" and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges, calling them absurd on their face.

Whelan had languished in Russian custody for years. A well-placed source told Fox News that Turkish intelligence officials played a key role in mediating the prisoner swap. 

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After Gershkovich's pre-trial detention was extended repeatedly, he was convicted in a closed court of "gathering secret information" and sentenced to 16 years at a high-security penal colony on July 19. His conviction was expected and experts and officials repeatedly said his only hope for freedom was a prisoner swap after his court proceedings concluded.

"Evan is free and on his way home," Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker said in a joint statement on Thursday. 

"He was released today in a multilateral prisoner exchange that took place in Ankara, Turkey, along with Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva, among others," Latour and Tucker added. "We are overwhelmed with relief and elated for Evan and his family, as well as for the others who were released." 

Latour and Tucker continued: "At the same time, we condemn in the strongest terms Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, which orchestrated Evan’s 491-day wrongful imprisonment based on sham accusations and a fake trial as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth. Unfortunately, many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world."

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Latour and Tucker also praised everyone responsible for bringing Gershkovich home. 

"Evan and his family have displayed unrivaled courage, resilience and poise during this ordeal, which came to an end because of broad advocacy for his release around the world," they wrote. 

"Specifically, we would like to thank the U.S. government and numerous governments around the world, with particular gratitude to Germany; global news media organizations standing in solidarity with Evan; Evan's vast international network of friends; and our colleagues at The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones and News Corp who supported Evan from the first hour of his captivity," Latour and Tucker continued. "We reserve special recognition and appreciation for Evan's mother, Ella; his father, Mikhail; and his sister, Danielle, and her husband Anthony, who have been steadfast partners throughout this unthinkable ordeal. Their unwavering strength, positivity and resolve will continue to serve as an inspiration."

Prior to his conviction, Gershkovich languished for months at the notorious Lefortovo prison in Moscow. One Russian journalist who was subjected to interrogations there called it a psychologically torturous place meant to make prisoners feel isolated and abandoned.

Gershkovich was the first known Western journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia. The American-born son of Soviet immigrants, Gershkovich had long nursed a fascination with his parents' home country. 

With stints at The New York Times, Moscow Times and Agence France-Presse before joining The Wall Street Journal in 2022, Gershkovich developed a reputation as a savvy journalist and made friends around the world. Those same friends in journalism helped keep his grim ordeal in the spotlight; #FreeEvan hashtags were commonly shared on X and other social media profiles by journalists, and The Wall Street Journal dedicated considerable resources and ink to his plight.

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The last time Russia exchanged prisoners with the U.S. was December 2022, when it freed basketball player Brittney Griner in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for smuggling and possessing cannabis. As in Gershkovich's case, Griner's harsh sentence was viewed as Russia effectively taking an American hostage to obtain leverage over the U.S. 

The consequences and chilling effect on journalism caused by Gershkovich's arrest and detainment have been far-reaching. With Western outlets already wary of Putin's authoritarian regime in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Gershkovich's plight sent a clear message that no reporter was safe from being snatched — or worse. 

On Wednesday, Wall Street Journal chief digital editor Grainne McCarthy sent a memo to staffers noting that Gershkovich had been detained for "70 long weeks" and thanked colleagues for continuing to keep his name at the forefront. 

Fox News' Nick Kalman contributed to this report.