President Biden delivers first remarks since Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan and other US captives freed: ‘Their brutal ordeal is over’
WASHINGTON — President Biden said “this is a very good afternoon” Thursday as he appeared at the White House with the families of three Americans and one green-card holder who were released in a prisoner swap with Russia.
The swap included US citizens Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva and permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza.
“Now their brutal ordeal is over and they’re free,” the 81-year-old commander-in-chief said after the four were flown to Ankara, Turkey.
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“Moments ago, their families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office.”
Whelan is a former Marine jailed since 2018 on espionage allegations. The other three are journalists: Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter accused of seeking out sensitive information; Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reporter; and Kara-Murza, a Washington Post columnist.
Biden said he personally knew Kara-Murza, who he said was a fellow pallbearer at Sen. John McCain’s funeral in 2018, and that he hoped to personally greet the group at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland later in the day.
“Anyone who questions why allies matter — they do. They matter,” Biden said, after the deal was brokered by a group of NATO countries and Russia.
“Today is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world, friends you can trust, work with and depend upon, especially on matters of great consequence and sensitivity like this.”
Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, jailed for life in Germany for murder, was among the prisoners returned to Russia.
“All told, Russia has released 16 prisoners. Eight Russians who were being held in the West will be sent home as well,” Biden said.
“These 16 prisoners … include four Americans, five Germans [and] seven Russian citizens who are political prisoners in their own country.”
Biden said that “it says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners [who] stood up for democracy and human rights.”
The prisoner swap notably did not include Marc Fogel, the retired Pennsylvania school teacher who was arrested in August 2021 for possessing 17 grams of what he said was medical marijuana — despite advocacy on his behalf from members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.
Earlier US-Russia prisoner releases under Biden included a pair of 2022 swaps — with former US Marine Trevor Reed traded for Russian drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko, and WNBA star Brittney Griner, who had a nine-year sentence for traveling with a small amount of cannabis oil, swapped for “Merchant of Death” arms trafficker Viktor Bout.
Vice President Kamala Harris also made remarks about the historic prisoner swap Thursday afternoon while returning from her trip to Houston, Texas.
Harris stressed that the effort to return the prisoners was a joint effort between her and Biden, adding that they “never stopped fighting for their release.”
The likely Democratic presidential nominee and former prosecutor called the detention of the prisoners “an appalling perversion” of justice and said the Americans “have shown incredible courage.”
Both Biden and Harris are expected to meet with the released prisoners when they land at Joint Base Andrews late Thursday evening.
