© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia since March last year, was freed in a major prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia late on Thursday (August 1). It was part of the largest post-Soviet prisoner swap between the two countries, leading to the release of 24 individuals.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was at the airport to welcome freed prisoners in Moscow.
The Turkish intelligence service had said in a statement it would be coordinating the prisoner swap. Here is a look at who Gershkovich is and why he was detained by Russia.
Born in 1991, Gershkovich is the son of immigrants who left the Soviet Union for the US during the Cold War. He is a fluent Russian speaker, and before joining the WSJ (shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022) he reported from Moscow for Agence France Press and The Moscow Times.
On March 29, 2023, while dining in a steakhouse in the city of Yekaterinburg that is located about 1,400 km east of Moscow, Gershkovich was arrested by Russian authorities. He was then sent to Moscow, where he was until June kept in Lefortovo — a prison used by the FSB security service and its predecessor, the Soviet KGB, for suspects accused of spying or other grave crimes, according to Reuters.
Gershkovich was accused of gathering information on behalf of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) regarding a Russian company that makes tanks for the war in Ukraine.
In June, the journalist was sentenced to 16 months in jail for espionage by a Russian court. Gershkovich denied all the charges and pleaded not guilty during the secretive trial in Yekaterinburg. The verdict was widely criticised by the West, and the WSJ called it a “disgraceful, sham conviction”.
Not really. Western media reports suggest that the US and Russia had been negotiating a potential prisoner exchange, involving Gershkovich for months.
“Many observers have linked the initial Gershkovich arrest to a Russian policy that amounts to hostage-taking, with a view to increasing pressure on western countries to release Russian spies, hackers and assassins,” according to a report by The Guardian.
Besides Gershkovich, Russia may also release former US marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 on the charges of espionage and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. In exchange, Russian political prisoners in the West are expected to be freed, The Guardian‘s report said. Numerous Russians jailed for espionage, murder, and other crimes may also be released.
After the swap deal was confirmed, Wall Street Journal published a lengthy account of what went into the negotiations.
