Two Americans detained in Russia are expected to be returning to the United States as part of a prisoner swap, according to multiple reports.
On Thursday, Bloomberg first reported, citing unnamed sources, that Russia is releasing Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.
The Hill reported that a Biden administration confirmed the swap with the outlet.
Whelan was arrested in 2018 and charged with spying — which he denied.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020. And as NewsNation notes, he “previously endured violence when he was in pretrial detention in Moscow at the hands of a guard who was later reprimanded for that. He has also endured verbal abuse at the labor camp that he’s was assigned to.”
“He was left out of a prisoner exchange in April 2022 that brought home yet another detainee, Marine veteran Trevor Reed. That swap escalated pressure on the Biden administration to avoid another one-for-one swap that didn’t include Whelan,” the outlet noted. “That pressure grew when basketball star Brittney Griner was detained for having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. She was sentenced to nine years in prison but eventually freed in December 2022 during another one-on-one prisoner exchange with Russia for arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. When the swap didn’t include Whelan, it sparked outrage among his family and supporters.”
Meanwhile, Gershkovich was detained in 2023 and accused of espionage.
Last month he was sentenced to 16 years in a maximum security prison.
The U.S. and the Wall Street Journal have both said the charge was false.
