The Wall Street Journal saw one of its own unjustly imprisoned across the world for nearly 500 grueling days. Now it's celebrating the freedom of reporter Evan Gershkovich, who had been wrongfully detained in Russia since last March.
Gershkovich, American veteran Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a green card holder, are coming home after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the United States, Russia, and other countries. The WSJ has spent 16 months working to keep Gershkovich’s plight at the forefront, and staffers finally got to celebrate on Thursday.
"It is a joyous day for Evan’s family, friends and colleagues, who have worried about him and supported him these past 16 months. It is a joyous day for the millions of well-wishers in the U.S. and around the world who stood with Evan and defended the free press," Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker wrote.
"And it is a joyous day for the relatives and friends of the other wrongfully detained Americans and German citizens who returned home and for the Russian political prisoners who were released to the West," Tucker continued. "That it was done in a trade for Russian operatives guilty of serious crimes was predictable as the only solution given President Putin’s cynicism."
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Tucker said she is grateful to President Biden and his administration for "working with persistence and determination to bring Evan home rather than see him shipped off to a Russian work camp for a crime he didn’t commit."
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on March 29, 2023, while reporting on a trip to the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage. The Biden administration declared him "wrongfully detained" and The Wall Street Journal and U.S. government both emphatically denied the charges. He was eventually convicted in what WSJ leaders and others condemned as a "sham" trial and sentenced last month to 16 years at a high-security penal colony.
"We are also grateful to the other governments that helped bring an end to Evan’s nightmare, in particular the German government that played such a critical role," Tucker wrote.
"We know the U.S. government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice," Tucker continued. "The ordeal of Evan and the other returnees—along with those Americans still being wrongfully detained around the world—demonstrates the urgent need for a change in the dynamic to prevent the future seizure of innocent hostages."
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In the meantime, Tucker said that the WSJ will celebrate the return of Gershkovich.
"While we waited for this momentous day, we were determined to be as loud as we could be on Evan’s behalf. We are so grateful for all the voices that were raised when his was silent. We can finally say, in unison, ‘Welcome home, Evan,’" Tucker wrote.
The Journal's newsroom erupted in applause at the news.
"It has been our honor to have got to know Evan’s family—Ella, Mikhail, Danielle and Anthony—and we have marveled at their good grace, fortitude and wisdom under such pressure. We can imagine and share in their joy and relief at the return of their son and brother," she continued.
His family and the loved ones of other freed Americans joined President Biden at the White House on Thursday as he announced the swap.
"This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here," he said. "It's a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country who've been praying for this day for a long time."
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Tucker thanked everyone who fought to bring Gershkovich home and paid tribute to all those who kept his plight in the public consciousness.
"My greatest thanks, though, must go to Evan himself," Tucker added. "The bogus case against him represented many significant things. A blow against press freedom. A warning to foreign journalists covering the Kremlin. A new tension in America’s relationship with Russia. But at the center of it all was Evan, our 32-year-old Moscow correspondent from New Jersey, who likes to cook and supports Arsenal Football Club, and who loved living in and reporting on Russia."
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Tucker called Gershkovich an "inspiration" and "galvanizing force" through the horrific ordeal.
"Now that Evan is home, we plan to give him as much time and space as he needs to restore himself, reconnect, and ponder the next steps in his life and career," she wrote. "We will be right there with him and his family. And we look forward to seeing him in the newsroom when he is ready."
Fox News Digital’s David Rutz contributed to this report.
