Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia since March last year, is expected to be freed in a major prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia on Thursday (August 1).
Although neither Russia nor the US revealed any detail on the exchange location, Turkish intelligence said in a statement it would be coordinating the prisoner swap. Sources confirmed to The Guardian that the exchange would take place in Turkey on Thursday.
Here is a look at who Gershkovich is, and why he was detained by Russia.
Who is Evan Gershkovich?
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.
Why was Gershkovich arrested by Russia?
On March 29, 2023, while dining in a steakhouse in the city of Yekaterinburg — about 1,400 km east of Moscow — Gershkovich was arrested by the 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 had 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”.
Has Gershkovich’s release come as a surprise?
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 report said. Numerous Russians jailed for espionage, murder, and other crimes may also be released.
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