In the largest multi-country prisoner swap since the Cold War, Russia agreed to free Jewish American journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan on Thursday. This deal will allow the two wrongfully detained prisoners to return home to the US.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 for espionage, which he and US officials deny wholeheartedly. Biden claims Gershkovich was “targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American.” After a hasty trial, he was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.
Whelan, 54, was arrested in December 2018 for espionage as well, while traveling to Russia on an American passport. Both the Biden and Trump administrations denied the allegation. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison, serving five before this deal.
This story is still developing.
