Paul Whelan was formally released in the Russian prisoner swap.

Former US Marine Paul Whelan was released as part of a prisoner swap after serving more than five years in a Russian jail, according to the AP, which cited Turkish officials.

Participating in the swap was Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as well, enabling the two American citizens unlawfully incarcerated in Moscow to come home.

24 prisoners and seven nations participated in the prisoner swap. It would probably involve the United States, Germany, Britain, and Slovenia on one side and Russia and Belarus on the other, according to a Reuters article published on Wednesday night.

2018 saw the arrest of Novi resident Whelan in Russia on espionage charges. 2020 saw his conviction and the imposition of a 16-year prison term.

When the 54-year-old was arrested in Moscow in 2018 and found guilty in 2020, he was a company security director and a former Marine.

Following news of Paul’s release, the Whelan family issued a statement, which you can read here.

According to the agreement, Russia freed the following people: Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed since 2018 on espionage charges he and Washington have denied; Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was jailed in 2023 and found guilty in July of spreading false information about the Russian military—a charge her family and employer have rejected—and Whelan, a reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty who was also convicted in July of the same offense.

Among the dissidents freed were Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize–winning writer and Kremlin critic who had been imprisoned for 25 years on treason charges that were largely believed to be politically motivated; 11 political prisoners in Russia, including aides to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny; and a German national who had been detained in Belarus.

Vadim Krasikov was apprehended by the Russian side in 2021 after he was found guilty in Germany of killing a former Chechen rebel in a Berlin park two years prior, allegedly at the orders of Moscow’s secret agencies.

Along with three men charged by federal authorities in the United States—Vadim Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence agent accused of supplying American-made electronics and ammunition to the Russian military—and Roman Seleznev, a convicted computer hacker and the son of a Russian lawmaker—Russia also received two alleged sleeper agents who were imprisoned in Slovenia. Poland also returned a man it had imprisoned, and Norway returned an academic who had been detained on suspicion of being a Russian spy.

The 24 convicts who were traded on Thursday exceeded a 14-person agreement made in 2010. In that deal, Moscow repatriated four Russian nationals, including double agent Sergei Skripal who was collaborating with British intelligence, and Washington freed ten Russians who were sleeping in the United States. In 2018, a nerve agent attack that was attributed to Russian operatives almost claimed his life along with his daughter.

Joe Biden’s statement, issued by the White House, said, “Today, three American citizens and one American with a green card who were wrongfully imprisoned in Russia are finally returning home: Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Paul Whelan, and Evan Gershkovich. A diplomatic miracle was the agreement that guaranteed their freedom. In total, 16 individuals—five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own nation—have been freed from Russia thanks to our negotiations. Many of these men and women have been wrongfully detained for many years. Everyone has experienced unspeakable pain and uncertainty. Their pain is over as of today. I am thankful to our allies, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Turkey, who supported us during the difficult and convoluted negotiations that led to this conclusion. our is a potent illustration of why it’s so important to have reliable friends in our world.

Americans are safer thanks to our allies. To be clear, I will not stop working until the families of every American who has been wrongly arrested or held captive abroad are reunited. Almost seventy of these Americans, many of whom had been held captive since before I assumed office, have now been returned home by my administration. Still, returning those Americans home is my top goal as President because far too many families are suffering and being cut off from their loved ones. Together with their families, we are happy to celebrate Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir’s return. We pay tribute to everyone who is still being wrongly imprisoned or held captive worldwide. And once again say to their families, We see you. We support you. Furthermore, we won’t give up on returning your loved ones to their rightful homes.

Gary Peters on Thursday. I’ve been pushing for Paul’s release for the past few years with the help of Administration representatives, my coworkers, and Paul’s family, and I’m incredibly relieved that today is the last day of this unfathomable nightmare for Paul and his loved ones. He is warmly welcomed home to Michigan.

In a statement, Senator Debbie Stabenow said, “Excellent news today! Paul Whelan, home after over five years away, is returning. I am aware of how painful the last few years have been for Paul and his family. I’m delighted Paul will soon be seeing them. We are grateful to Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden for their outstanding efforts in reuniting these Americans.

Additionally, Rep. Tim Walbert issued the following statement: “I’m ecstatic to learn that Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich will be returning home. Ed and Rosemary, Paul’s parents, were neighbors of mine, and they have been in constant agony for almost six years, not knowing if they would ever see their son again. Even on the worst of days, Paul’s siblings Elizabeth and David have never given up on him and have done all within their power to bring him home. Paul and Evan are two innocent Americans who were wrongfully imprisoned in order to strengthen the geopolitical negotiating position of the Kremlin.”