WASHINGTON – Several news outlets this morning reported that a “large scale” prisoner exchange is underway between Russia, the United States, and other third-party nations, including Germany, Turkey, and seven nations in total. This exchange is expected to include Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich both of whom the U.S. Government has designated as wrongfully detained per the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act. We are heartened by this news, if confirmed, and applaud the government’s work to bring Americans held captive unjustly in Russia home.
Per our 2024 Bringing Americans Home research report released last Wednesday, the Foley Foundation is tracking that Russia is holding a total of nine Americans as wrongfully detained. Others whom the U.S. government has not designated as wrongfully detained include RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, construction contractor Andre Khachatoorian, and ballet dancer Ksenia Karelina, whose cases the Foley Foundation has been advocating for publicly as wrongfully detained based on our interpretation of the Levinson Act. Not all the other cases are public. We hope that all Americans held captive in Russia are a part of this exchange and may soon be reunited with their families. Similar exchanges with Russia in the past have, however, left wrongfully detained Americans behind including Paul Whelan.
 Paul Whelan |  Evan Gershkovich |
Paul Whelan has been detained for more than five years, the longest any of the current Americans unjustly held by Russia. Evan Gershkovich has been detained in Russia for 491 days. On average, the Americans being wrongfully detained by Russia have been imprisoned for over 833 days. This length of time highlights the often-prolonged nature of wrongful detention cases.
Russia accounts for 25% of all Americans being wrongfully detained abroad. Russia’s use of humans as international bargaining chips – Americans as well as citizens from other countries – underscores its threat to international security and stability. We are encouraged to see that this exchange includes other countries, which may indicate a greater willingness among nations to collaborate in resolving these complex cases. International coalitions are needed to resolve current cases more quickly and lay the groundwork for more effective and stronger means of deterrence of these ongoing violations of universal human rights by state actors.
