The major prisoners deal involved two US journalists, Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich, and a Russian dissident journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who arrived at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, in the US late on 1 August and were welcomed by the US President, Joe Biden. 

For its part, Russia secured the release of Spanish journalist Pablo González, who had spent two and a half years in a Polish prison, accused of spying for Moscow, without any allegations against him being made public. Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomed González in a ceremony at Moscow airport.  

The IFJ joins the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) in calling on Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan and Turkey to free the 137 other journalists currently behind bars in Europe.

IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: “We are truly relieved by the release of our colleagues after months, and in some cases years, in detention, during which the IFJ has been campaigning for their freedom. At the same time, we strongly condemn the Kremlin’s hostage-taking tactics involving journalists for political ends. Journalism is not a crime and journalists must be allowed to do their job without fear of repression”. 

"This exchange not only gives freedom to those who were wrongly imprisoned or who were languishing in prison awaiting a fair trial. It also highlights the success of diplomatic negotiations that contrbute to respect for human rights," said EFJ General Secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez.

“North America's journalists are thrilled that Evan, Alsu and others are being released. Journalism is not a crime. Russia's actions to arrest, detail and sentence Evan were a disgrace. The NewsGuild-CWA will always stand with journalists and continue to fight for press freedom,” stated Jon Schleuss, The NewsGuild-CWA president

The president of the Federation of Spanish Journalists’ Associations (FAPE), Miguel Angel Noceda, expressed “the enormous satisfaction of FAPE (…), since Pablo Gonzalez’s personal situation was clearly inhuman, with long periods of family isolation and prison solitary confinement. There was no charge against him and no trial date, which is intolerable in an European Union member state”.

"We, in the FeSP, welcome the release of Pablo Gonzalez because, without going into whether he is innocent or guilty of any crime, the inhuman conditions in which he has been imprisoned for 29 months should not be tolerated in a country that is part of the European Union," said FeSP General Secretary, Agustín Yanel.

Who are the freed journalists?

Alsu Kurmasheva

Alsu Kurmasheva is a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist and dual US-Russia citizen based in Prague, Czech Republic. The journalist had travelled to Russia in May, 2023, for a family emergency, and was temporarily detained by Kazan authorities in Russia and her passports confiscated, while waiting for her return flight. Before she could pay the fine, Kumasheva was detained a second time on 18 October, 2023, by Kazan authorities in Russia on charges of ‘failing to register herself as a foreign agent’. On 11 December, 2023, Russian authorities launched an investigation against Kumasheva for “spreading false information” about Russia’s military.  

On 19 July, 2024, Kurmasheva was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for “spreading false news”. More than nine months after her detention, Kurmasheva has been released on 1 August in the prisoner swap. 

Evan Gershkovich

The Wall Street Journal Moscow-based reporter, Evan Gershkovich, was detained on 29 March 2023, during a reporting trip to the Urals city of Ekaterinburg. A Moscow court ordered Gershkovich to be placed under arrest until May 29 on charges of spying for the US government, according to a statement by the joint press service of the Moscow courts. The journalist’s pre-trial detention was extended several times until he was sentenced to 16 years in jail on “espionage” charges on 19 July, 2024. Gershkovich pleaded not guilty, and the Wall Street Journal and the US government dismissed the charges as nonsense.

Gershkovich, who was the first reporter for a US news outlet to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, was freed after one year and four months in jail. 

Pablo González

Spanish journalist Pablo Gonzalez was arrested in the south-western Polish city of Rzeswów while reporting on the humanitarian crisis on Polish-Ukrainian border on 28 February, 2022, days after the start of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine. González, who holds Spanish and Russian nationality, was accused of being “an agent of Russian intelligence” and spent two and a half years in a Polish prison without any allegations against him being made public.

Until his release, on 1 August 2024, González was the only journalist imprisoned in an EU member state. The journalist was freed as part of the prisoner exchange between the US and Russia, and was greeted by Russia’s president Vladimir Putin in a ceremony at Moscow airport.  

Vladimir Kara-Murza

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a dual Russian and British journalist and opposition activist, who was sentenced on April 17 2023 to 25 years in prison for criticising Vladimir Putin’s regime and its war of aggression against Ukraine. 

Kara-Murza was freed as part of the prisoner swap on 1 August.