OAN Staff James Meyers
8:33 AM – Thursday, August 1, 2024
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan are expected to be released as part of the largest multi-country prisoner exchange since the Cold War, ABC reported.
The U.S. and four NATO allies are reportedly swapping a total of 24 prisoners with Russia that is expected to take place in Turkey, according to ABC.
Gershkovich was arrested in Yekaterinburg in March 2023, and accused of collecting state secrets on the Russian military on behalf of the U.S. government. He became the first American journalist to be detained in Russia since the Cold War and was recently sentenced in July to 16 years in prison.
In 2018, Whelan was arrested and later convicted on charges of spying, charges that have been denied by himself, his family and the Biden administration. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. The U.S. government designated him “wrongfully detained” but had failed to secure his release in the most recent prison exchanges involving U.S. Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA player Brittney Griner, who were released in separate exchanges in 2022.
The latest announced prisoner exchange comes after President Joe Biden has said he was willing to agree to a prisoner swap in order to free Gershkovich, a move he used to secure the release of Griner in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death.”
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. resident and husband to an American citizen, is also involved in the exchange, according to Bloomberg. Kara-Murza is a Russian opposition politician who was arrested in Russia in 2022 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of treason and spreading false information about the Russian military and their war against Ukraine.
Rumors had been ramping up in recent days that a large U.S.-Russia prisoner swap could be forthcoming, as a number of prominent inmates held in Russia were moved from their cells to unknown locations, according to the Moscow Times.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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