US journalist Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan were among 26 prisoners released Thursday in a swap deal between Russia and several Western countries, Agence France-Presse reported, citing Turkey’s presidency.
Wall Street Journal journalist Gershkovich was released just weeks after being sentenced by a Russian court to 16 years for espionage. A Turkish statement said prisoners from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Belarus and Russia were involved in the swap “carried out” by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization.
Earlier in the day, MİT said in a statement that it is coordinating an extensive prisoner swap on Thursday without elaborating on the details.
“A [prisoner] exchange operation will take place today under the coordination of our organization,” MİT said in a statement. “Our organization has undertaken a major mediation role in this exchange operation, which is the most comprehensive of the recent period.”
The MİT statement came at a time when three US citizens imprisoned in Russia, including Gershkovich was expected to be released on Thursday under a prisoner exchange deal.
The state-run Anadolu news agency reported, relying on security sources, that the prisoner swap involved the transfer of 26 people in seven planes from the US, Russia, Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway to Turkey.
As part of the deal, 10 prisoners including two children have been transferred to Russia, 13 to Germany and three to the US, Anadolu said.
Neither Russia nor the US publicized any details on the exchange location.
Turkey said the swap was the “most extensive prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia, and Germany in recent years.”
It said “channels of dialogue for this historic operation were established by MİT” and the different sides were “brought together in Turkey” in July.
Praise from Biden, NATO
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden on Thursday thanked Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for his role in the prisoner swap with Russia, the Turkish presidency said.
“During the call, US President Biden thanked President Erdoğan for his efforts to make sure that the prisoner swap unfolded smoothly,” it said.
Biden said Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey “stood with us.” “They made bold and brave decisions, released prisoners being held in their countries who were justifiably being held, and provided the logistical support to get the Americans home.”
NATO also hailed the release of prisoners from Russia in a swap with the West it said resulted from alliance members working closely together.
“I welcome today’s release of wrongfully detained Allied citizens and Russian political prisoners. Close cooperation between NATO allies made this achievement possible,” NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.
“It came at a cost, but it was weighted against the freedom and the lives of people unjustly imprisoned.”
“Journalists and political opposition must be free to voice legitimate views without intimidation,” Stotlenberg said.
“While the release of this group of political prisoners is a victory for diplomacy, too many others remain wrongly detained in Russia. I call for all those still unjustly imprisoned to be released.”
Yörük Işık, a geopolitical analyst based in İstanbul, where he runs the Bosphorus Observer, a consultancy analyzing maritime activity on the Turkish Straits, posted on X the flight activities of US and Russian jets descending on Ankara at the same time.
In another tweet he said Gershkovich is almost free and the major prisoner exchange is happening at Ankara Esenboğa Airport between the US, Germany, Slovenia and Russia and Belarus.
.@evangershkovich is almost free: Major prisoner exchange is happening in Ankara Esenboğa between US, Germany, Slovenia and Russia & Belarus. https://t.co/DJopGIYgOX pic.twitter.com/NLqgQNGeiR
— Yörük Işık (@YorukIsik) August 1, 2024
As well as Gershkovich and Whelan, German Rico Krieger, who was imprisoned in Belarus, Russian dissident Ilya Yashin, and Russian intelligence colonel Vadim Krasikov, who was held in Germany for the killing of a Chechen separatist, were part of the swap, the statement said.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 while reporting in the city of Ekaterinburg and was last month sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage. He pleaded not guilty and the Wall Street Journal and the US government have dismissed the charges as nonsense.