A large-scale prisoner exchange that includes prisoners from Russia, the U.S. and Germany, as well as other countries, is currently taking place. A total of 26 prisoners from seven countries reportedly will be released from all countries in what is said to be the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War.
The prison transfer is currently underway, a US administration official told CNN.
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Wall Street Journal journalist detained in Russia Evan Gershkovich
(Photo: Moscow City Court's Press Office/Handout via REUTERS)
Turkey's presidency released a statement on Thursday afternoon saying that an exchange of 26 prisoners was taking place in Ankara. It said in a statement the 26 individuals had also come from prisons in Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus.
The White House reported later on Thursday that the U.S. and four allies reached a deal with Russia for a swap that includes the release of 16 people including Jewish U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich. The Biden administration negotiated the complex trade with Russia and several other countries, agreeing to send eight prisoners held in the West back to Russia, including Vadim Krasikov, who had been serving a life sentence for killing a Chechen-Georgian dissident in Berlin. Negotiated in secret for more than a year, the deal represents a major accomplishment for the parties and will be presented by the Biden administration as a marquee foreign policy success as the U.S. presidential race enters its final months.
A Russian government plane landed in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday afternoon, Reuters reported, citing an eye-witness said, shortly after the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT) said it was coordinating an extensive prisoner swap. It was not clear who was on board the plane.
The Bloomberg news agency reported at noon (Thursday) that the Russian authorities released from prison two American citizens whose release the US had long fought for, and they are now making their way to destinations outside of Russia: American Jewish "Wall Street Journal" reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan , who were both convicted of espionage and sentenced to long years in prison.
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Former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, convicted in Russia on charges of espionage
(Photo: Reuters)
Bloomberg's report came after reports multiplied in the last day in the independent Russian media operating outside of Russia about a dramatic exchange deal being forged between Russia, the U.S. and Germany, and which may be implemented within a day. "Informed sources" told Russian journalists that as part of the deal Moscow would release from prisons Its 20-30 political prisoners, including journalists and opposition figures imprisoned in recent years.
Former Marine Paul Whelan, now 54, was arrested in Russia for espionage in December 2018, while he was on vacation in Moscow. Russia, for its part, claims that while he was in Russia he engaged in espionage and obtained state secrets. Whelan was arrested when he arrived to collect a USB drive from an acquaintance, which he said he thought contained photos from his vacation. At his trial, the prosecution claimed that he was a member of the U.S. Defense Department's Defense Intelligence Agency, "at least at the rank of colonel." Whelan claimed that he is "less James Bond and more Mr. Bean." The court sentenced him to 16 years in prison.
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Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced last year to 25 years in prison for 'serious treason'
(Photo: AFP)
In the following years, Whelan's family has worked tirelessly to secure his release, and when in December 2022 a deal was made in which WNBA basketball player Brittany Griner was released from prison in Russia in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, Whelan's relatives expressed great frustration that he was not included in the deal. President Joe Biden then went on camera and emphasized that the administration has not forgotten Whelan, and would continue to work for his release.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in Russia , also for espionage, in March 2023. Gershkovich, the son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union, has been covering Russia since 2017, and in January 2022 he began working from Moscow for The Wall Street Journal. Russia claims to have arrested him while he was trying to collect classified information on a military facility. Last month he was convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison under "strict conditions" in a penal colony.
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Oleg Orlov Russian human rights activist sent to 2.6 years in prison
(Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)
According to Russian reports on Wednesday, in addition to the Whelan and Gershkovich, Russia is also supposed to release a number of opposition figures and human rights activists in the deal, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced last year to 25 years in prison for "serious treason", Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment, and Oleg Orlov , who was sent to prison for two and a half years.
According to reports Wednesday, among the prisoners that Russia will receive in return will be Federal Security Service member Vadim Krasikov, who has been imprisoned in Germany since 2019, when he was captured immediately after he assassinated a former commander of the Chechen forces that fought in Russia in Berlin. In addition, according to reports, it was agreed that Slovenia would release from prison and deport two Russian spies, the couple Artem and Anna Dolcev.
First published: 17:17, 08.01.24