WASHINGTON—Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s 56-nation Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Political Prisoners, today welcomed news that three journalists and Paul Whelan, wrongly detained and imprisoned by Russian authorities on trumped-up charges, have been released in a prisoner exchange.
Congressman Cohen made the following statement:
“I have been working for the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Paul Whelan since they were first falsely accused and detained for doing their jobs. I applaud the efforts of President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and all those who have worked tirelessly for today’s result.
“Vladimir Kara-Murza has testified before our Helsinki Commission and recommended me for the post of OSCE-PA Special Representative on Political Prisoners when I was appointed by then-President of the OSCE-PA Margareta Cederfelt in July 2022. He said he had to return to Russia, despite having been twice poisoned in assassination attempts, because he is a Russia politician working to end Putin’s despotic regime. In every opportunity I have, I mention what he told me: that the worst fear of a political prisoner is to be forgotten. I am pleased to see that he will be returned to his wife Evgenia and their children and to his critical work to restore freedom and democracy in his country.
“Evan and Alsu, also falsely detained for doing their work as journalists, will now be restored to their families and colleagues. I commend their bravery and welcome them home.
“Paul Whelan, an American Marine, was falsely accused of spying and has been in custody since December of 2018. I welcome his release.”
Background:
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual British-Russian national and a harsh critic of Vladimir Putin’s corrupt regime and the war in Ukraine, has been serving a 25-year sentence for treason after he was detained in April of 2022. A regular political columnist for The Washington Post and other news organizations, he is a leader of opposition to Putin and his oligarchs.
Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been serving a 16-year sentence after a false conviction for spying for the United States. He was detained in March of 2023.
Alsu Kurmasheva, a Prague-based journalist for Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, was serving six and a half years after being detained while visiting her Russian mother in October of 2023.
In addition to Gershkovich, Kara-Murza, Whelan, and Kurmasheva, Ilya Yashin, Andrei Pivovarov, Oleg Orlov, Alexandra Skochilenko, Lilia Chanysheva, Ksenia Fadeeva, Rico Krieger, Kevin Lik, Demuri Voronin, Vadim Ostanin, Patrick Schobel, and Herman Moyzhes were released today. They include five Germans and eight Russians, some associated with martyred dissident Alexei Navalny’s movement.
In exchange, Russia received eight prisoners held by the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia and Norway.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission held a hearing on June 13, 2024 exploring steps that can be taken to stop the practice of taking political prisoners and calling for the release of all unjustly detained individuals. The hearing was chaired by Ranking Member Cohen and attended by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya whose husband is being unjustly detained.
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