Russia frees reporter Evan Gershkovich and others in biggest prisoner swap with the West in decades

Russia on Thursday released the American journalist Evan Gershkovich, the Moscow correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, and over 20 other people in the largest prisoner swap with the West since the end of the Cold War. The Kremlin, along with Belarus, has also released former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, the Russian dissident Ilya Yashin and the German national Rico Krieger, who was being held on terrorism charges, the Turkish presidency confirmed. In exchange, the United States, Germany and other European countries handed over to Moscow several citizens accused of espionage or murder. The exchange took place in Ankara, the Turkish capital.

The National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), Turkey’s secret service, has mediated in the operation, according to a statement cited by local media: “Today an exchange (of prisoners) will take place under the coordination of our institution. This is one of the largest exchange operations in recent times, and our organization has played an important role as a mediator.” Washington and Moscow asked Turkey to intervene, since the Eurasian country maintains good relations with both capitals: despite being a member of NATO almost since its foundation, it has not decreed sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and the leaders of both countries are in constant contact.

Turkish intelligence sources explained to EL PAÍS that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan entrusted MIT chief Ibrahim Kalin (former presidential advisor on national security and foreign policy) to personally handle the case; the latter held constant meetings with the parties in recent weeks to prepare for the exchange, which was preceded last month by a meeting of the parties involved in Turkey.

Given the sensitivity of the mission, the logistics of the exchange have been supervised and controlled by MIT from start to finish, according to Turkish sources. Seven planes landed this afternoon at Ankara’s Esenboga airport, two of them from the United States and the rest from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Russia. They were carrying the 24 individuals, plus two minors, who were being held in prisons in the above-mentioned countries, as well as in Belarus.

The United States had been negotiating for months the release of Gershkovich, who was arrested in March 2023 while preparing a story on the war in Ukraine. The journalist, accused of espionage, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on July 19 in a lightning trial (with only three hearings behind closed doors), in the first sign that the Kremlin wanted to speed up the exchange. U.S. President Joe Biden then said that he would not stop in his efforts to bring him back home. On the same day, the Russian justice system sentenced Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, of the media outlet Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, to six years behind bars. She was also released on Thursday.

The Russian government was the first to comment on the operation. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged “enemies” who left Russian prisons to stay away from Russia. In addition, “all those who are not our enemies must return,” he said, quoted by the state news agency TASS.

Among those released by Moscow, there is also the journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, 42, a dual Russian-British citizen who was serving a 25-year sentence for criticizing the invasion of Ukraine. He is one of the most prominent figures in the Russian opposition and one of Vladimir Putin’s main critics. There is also Ilya Yashin, sentenced to eight years for questioning the Russian version of the Bucha massacre in March 2022, which claims that the corpses in the street of the Ukrainian city were a “production for the Western media”. Another prisoner who was released is Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the NGO Memorial, recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was accused of being a foreign agent after publishing an opinion column critical of the Kremlin.

The most recent swap took place in December 2022. Russia then exchanged basketball player Brittney Griner, who had been sentenced to nine years for drug possession, for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was imprisoned in the United States.

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