A prisoner swap involving as many as 30 people held by Russia, possibly including jailed Jewish-American journalist Evan Gershkovich and Jewish dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza, could be underway.
If it comes to pass, the exchange would be the largest prisoner swap between Russia and the United States since the end of the Cold War. Signs of an approaching prisoner swap have been reported by independent Russian media as well as international press.
Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal arrested in March 2023 on allegations of espionage, was sentenced in July to 16 years in a maximum security prison. He, his employer, and the United States government vehemently deny the charges.
Security experts have long considered a prisoner swap to be the best bet for returning Gershkovich to the United States. Senior officials at the Kremlin have said that talks over a swap that would include his release are underway.
Since he was arrested more than a year ago, Gershkovich’s cause has been taken up by Jewish organizations and activists. In an echo of the Cold War-era movement to free Soviet Jewry, activists have turned to Jewish holiday rituals to raise awareness of his imprisonment, leaving an empty seat for him at the Passover seder, and sending him greeting cards ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.
It could involve between 20 and 30 political prisoners, according to a story published on Wednesday in the independent newsletter the Kozlov Paper that was reprinted in the Moscow Times.