Gershkovich, Kurmasheva freed in complex, multinational prisoner swap with Russia

Donna Leinwand Leger

August 01, 2024

Russia freed journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva as part of a complex, six-nation prisoner exchange on Thursday for Russian prisoners, including a convicted Russian hitman who murdered a former Chechen fighter in a Berlin park and two Russian spies held by Slovenia.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

Gershkovich, 32, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal held since March 2023, Kurmasheva, and the other Western prisoners landed in the Turkish capital, Ankara, at 11:20 a.m., The Wall Street Journal reported. Gershkovich had been wrongly convicted on baseless charges of espionage and sentenced July 19 to 16 years in a penal colony after a secret trial.

Kurmasheva, 47, a Russian-American reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, was detained at an airport in Tartarstan in July 2023 as she tried to return to her home in Prague after visiting her elderly mother. She was sentenced to six and a half years in a Russian penal colony on bogus charges of spreading false information about the Russian military.

The National Press Club worked tirelessly to keep the plight of both journalists in the public eye and on the political agenda. As part of its press freedom mission, the Club had about a dozen events for Gershkovich over the course of his unlawful detention, including a 24-hour read-a-thon of his work, Club President Emily Wilkins said Thursday. The Club named Gershkovich its John Aubuchon honoree, its highest press freedom honor.

“In the end, the charges against Evan were without merit because there was no crime," Wilkins said. "He is a journalist and journalism is not a crime. He has, finally, prevailed through his inspiring determination.”

The Club will honor Kurmasheva with the President's Award at its Journalism Awards Dinner on Aug. 28.

“Our joy at Alsu’s release today is tempered by our anger that she was taken in the first place. Alsu was guilty of no crime and was held in deplorable conditions and separated from her family in a cruel and heartless manner," Wilkins said. “We congratulate the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Team which worked hard for Alsu’s release and for all those who supported her case."