American reporter Evan Gershkovich is seen at a court hearing in Moscow. Photo: Reuters/Evgenia Novozhenina

Jewish groups are celebrating a prisoner-swap deal which secured the release of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, along with more than a dozen other individuals, from Russian prison on Thursday. 

The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), an umbrella organization that represents over 350 Jewish communities across the continent, released a statement thanking the Biden administration for its help in freeing the Jewish American journalist. 

“Jewish Federations of North America are overjoyed and relieved at the news of Evan Gershkovich’s release, along with the release of Paul Whelan and other political prisoners,” the organization said in a statement. “It has been 491 days since Russia wrongfully detained Evan, a Wall Street Journal reporter trying to do his job in communicating news back home to readers.”

The American Jewish Committee (AJC) also released a statement condemning Russia for wrongfully imprisoning Gershkovich and thanking the Biden administration for securing his release. 

“AJC is deeply relieved that Gershkovich, the other Americans, and all those freed as part of this agreement are no longer suffering in the deplorable conditions of detention in Russia and have been released to safety and freedom. AJC deeply appreciates the role of President Biden and his administration, and other world partners, in securing their release,” AJC said.

Gershkovich’s detainment galvanized the global Jewish community. JFNA collected over 2,200 letters addressed to Gershkovich and delivered them to his parents to commemorate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Many Jewish supporters also left a seat open for him at the Passover seder.

Gershkovich, along with fellow Americans Paul Whelan and Alsu Kurmasheva and American green-card holder Vladimir Kara-Murza, were released as part of months-long negotiations between the two geopolitical adversaries. The massive, secretive 26-person swap took place in Ankara, Turkey. Beyond Russia and the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, and Norway also participated. 

The White House released a statement touting the multi-country deal as a “feat of diplomacy.”

Gershkovich, the child of Soviet Jewish immigrants, had been living in Russia for six years at the time of his arrest. 

Thursday’s prisoner release is the largest of its kind since the Cold War.

“Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over,” the White House said in its statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement confirming that the American prisoners were on their way back to the United States. 

“Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva are now on their way back to the United States from Russia. Through the extraordinary efforts of countless people in the State Department and across our government, the United States was able to strike an agreement to secure their freedom, as well as that of Vladimir Kara-Murza and 12 others held prisoner inside Russia,” Blinken said.

US President Joe Biden held a press conference at the White House to remark on the release of the American prisoners. The president invited the family members of those who were detained in Russia to celebrate. 

“Moments ago, the families and I were able to speak to them on the telephone from the Oval Office. They’re out of Russia,” Biden confirmed. 

US relations with Russia, which have long been unstable, completely deteriorated after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, calling into question whether the two nations would be able to strike a prisoner release deal. 

Gershkovich had been imprisoned in Russia since March 2023. The journalist was sentenced last month to serve 16 years in a Russian penal colony after being found guilty on charges of espionage. The US and the Wall Street Journal rebuked the allegations as meritless. 

The Wall Street Journal‘s publisher, Almar Latou, and editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, released a joint statement to “condemn in the strongest terms Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, which orchestrated Evan’s 491-day wrongful imprisonment based on sham accusations and a fake trial as part of an all-out assault on the free press and truth. Unfortunately, many journalists remain unjustly imprisoned in Russia and around the world.”