President Joe Biden is speaking to reporters at the White House after a historic prisoner swap with Russia and several other countries that included the release of former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Biden gathered the families of Whelan, Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza at the White House on Thursday to convey the news that their loved ones were coming home, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
The US president said that “the brutal ordeal of American prisoners is over and they are free.”
The president said it was an “incredible relief” for their families.
He said the released Americans were able to speak to their family members by phone while traveling to the United States.
“This is a very good afternoon, a very good afternoon,” Biden said. “Today we are bringing home Paul, Evan and Vladimir, three American citizens, one American green card holder. All four of them were wrongfully imprisoned in Russia.”
He said they were convicted in “sham trials” and given long prison sentences “for absolutely no legitimate reason, none at all.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who holds a US green card, were among those released.
Kara-Murza won the Pulitzer Prize for writing about Russia as a contributor to The Washington Post.
“All three were falsely accused of being spies,” Biden said.
The president also said he began working to free Americans wrongfully detained in Russia before he officially took office.
“Our work didn’t just start on Day One. I started before Day One. During the transition, I directed our national security team to investigate every case of hostages being wrongfully detained,” Biden said.
He said these cases were “inherited from the previous administration.”
“To date, my administration has brought home more than 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad — many of them since before I took office,” Biden said.
The Democrat also claimed that prisoners who have been released from Russian jails can now “live safely abroad.”
Biden reaffirmed that the release of Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladmir Kara-Murza would not have been possible without US allies: Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Turkey.
The president said one of the Russian detainees ran a human rights organization called Memorial, while another was arrested for voicing opposition to the war in Ukraine. Four others worked with Alexei Navalny, a leader of Russia’s political opposition.
“Now they can live safely abroad and continue their work defending democracy if they so choose,” Biden said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
