A The family of Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) journalist who was accused of espionage and sentenced by the Russian courts to 16 years in prison, stressed that, after “491 days” they can’t wait “to give him the biggest hug”, in the aftermath of the prisoner exchange between the West and Russia, this Thursday.
“We have waited 491 days for Evan’s release and it is hard to describe how we feel today. We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close,” the journalist’s family wrote in a statement released by the WSJ.
Ella Milman, Mikhail Gershkovich (parents) and Danielle Gershkovich (sister) also pointed out that, now, “the most important thing is to take care of Evan” and be “together again”.
“No family should have to go through this and so today we share relief and joy with the families of Paul [Whelan] Hey Alsu [Kurmasheva]”, they reinforced.
The trio thanked US President Joe Biden, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “and all US and foreign government officials who helped free Evan.”
“Our family has felt so much love and support from Evan’s fellow journalists, his wonderful friends and many, many people around the world. It has made a difference for Evan and for us. And a special thank you to Evan’s colleagues at Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. They have taken care of Evan and our entire family from the beginning, and we are forever grateful,” they concluded.
The same outlet also revealed that Gershkovich filled out a formal request for clemency addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, taking advantage of “a long blank space that the prisoner could fill in if he wanted, or simply, as expected, leave blank”, to invite the head of state for an interview.
“In the formal high Russian he had perfected during 16 months of imprisonment, the WSJ’s Russia correspondent filled out the page. The last line presented a proposal of his own: After his release, would Putin be willing to sit down for an interview?” it reads.
According to the Turkish presidency, which claimed to have coordinated the operation, the prisoner exchange involved 26 people from prisons in seven different countries: the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus.
Among the batch of prisoners released, in addition to Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan, held in Russia since late 2018, was Vadim Krasikov, an alleged Russian agent arrested in Germany for the murder of a former Chechen separatist commander in Berlin in 2019, as well as Rico Krieger, a German convicted in Belarus for terrorism, and Russian opposition figure Ilia Yachine, sentenced in late 2022 to eight and a half years in prison for denouncing crimes attributed to Russia in Ukraine.
Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was serving a 25-year sentence for treason, was also on the list of released prisoners.
Speculation has been mounting in recent weeks about the imminence of a major prisoner swap after several prisoners held in Russia disappeared from the penal colonies where they were serving their sentences, an unusual occurrence.
Read Also: “Bad deal”. Donald Trump criticizes prisoner swap with Russia
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2608855/esperamos-491-dias-familia-de-jornalista-do-wsj-reage-a-sua-libertacao
