They Are Coming Home, Russia Agrees To Release Evan Gershkovich & Paul Whelan In Multi-Country Swap

Thursday, August 1, 2024, 9:45 A.M. ET. 1 Minute Read, By Jennifer Hodges: Englebrook Independent News,

WASHINGTON, DC.- After being detained for nearly 500 days, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained since 2018, are finally being freed in what has been called a multi-country prisoner swap.

     As first reported by Bloomberg News, the two men will be released in what has been called a “multi-country prisoner swap,” further details of who the other countries are releasing remain unknown at this time. 

     This swap has been reported to it could be the largest exchange of prisoners since the Cold War in the 1960s. The number of prisoners being exchanged is unknown, and the other countries involved.

     Last month a court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg convicted Evan on espionage charges and sentenced him to a term of 16 years in a case that the U.S. called politically motivated.

     In 2020, Paul, after first being detained in 2018, was convicted of espionage and was also sentenced to 16 years in prison. 

     “This is a developing story and will be updated as information is released.”