U.S. Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, a graduate of Bowdoin College, were released from Russian prison on Friday as part of a prisoner swap negotiated between the U.S. government and the Kremlin.
A former U.S. Marine, Whelan was arrested in Russia while working as security director for BorgWarner, a Michigan-based automotive parts company.
While the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged that Whelan was caught engaging in espionage activities, his attorneys and family had maintained for years that he was framed by a Russian associate.
Whelan, 54, had been held in Lefortovo Prison for more than five years.
[RELATED: WSJ Reporter, Bowdoin Grad Evan Gershkovich Sentenced to 16 Years in Russian Prison…]
Gershkovich, 32, graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick in 2014, and he was arrested in Russia on allegations of engaging in espionage in March 2023.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich was reporting out of Yekaterinburg when he was detained. He was sentenced to 16 years in a penal colony in mid-July.
According to reports, Gershkovich’s release also came with the release of Paul Whelan, who has been held on espionage charges since 2018.
The release of Gershkovich and Whelan is part of what numerous international news outlets are referring to as the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.
Both Russia and the U.S. have been reluctant to share details about the swap, and there is some dispute in American news outlets about whether the prisoners have actually been released already or whether the swap has simply been agreed upon.
According to a Russian outlet, The Moscow Times, the exchange may involve 20-30 prisoners and could include Belarus and Germany in addition to Russia and the U.S.
It remains unclear which Russian prisoners have been swapped in exchange for the Americans held on espionage charges.
Throughout Gershkovich’s detention in Russia, the U.S. and the Wall Street Journal maintained that he was innocent of espionage.
Many believe that Russia held him mainly so they could leverage his imprisonment to secure the release of Russians held in the U.S.
The recent prisoner swap was the first such swap since 2022, when the Biden administration traded Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner, a female basketball player who was held on drug charges after she illegally smuggled marijuana into Russia.
