Aug. 1 (UPI) — President Joe Biden on Thursday said that three American citizens and one green card holder detained in Russian prisons were released in a prisoner swap.
Biden said in a statement that the four “unjustly imprisoned” people released Thursday included U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian journalist with British citizenship who also holds an American green card.
“Their brutal ordeal is over and they’re free,” Biden said during a news conference.
He added they were flown to Turkey earlier today and “soon” would be flown home to see their families.
Biden called the deal to free them a “feat of diplomacy and friendship” that included the release of a total of 16 people from Russia, including five Germans and seven Russian citizens held as political prisoners along with Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheve and Kara-Murza.
“Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty,” Biden said. “Today, their agony is over.”
Biden added he is “grateful” to U.S. allies including Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey for their support in the negotiations.
“This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon,” he said. “Our alliances make Americans safer.”
Biden did not share further details on what Russian prisoners would be released in exchange for those released by Moscow.
The swap was orignally reported by NBC News, ABC News, CBS News and CNN.
Whelan was arrested in 2018 and Gershkovich in 2023, both charged with espionage.
Kurmasheva was arrested in June 2023 on charges of spreading false information about the Russian Army.
Biden was joined at the news conference by family members of those released and took a moment to lead the room in singing “Happy Birthday” to Kurmasheva’s daughter Miriam.
“Today, we celebrate the return of Paul, Evan, Alsu and Vladimir and rejoice with their families,” Biden said. “We remember all those still wrongfully detained or held hostage around the world. And reaffirm our pledge to their families: We see you. We are with you. And we will never stop working to bring your loved ones home where they belong.”
The prisoner swap follows months of quiet negotiations, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel had told CBS News he didn’t want to speculate on any reasoning” behind movement of Russian prisoners on Wednesday.
“What I can say is that the United States continues to be focused on working around the clock to work to get our wrongfully detained American citizens home. And that continues to be the case, but no updates beyond that,” he said.
