Freed journalist Evan Gershkovich has raised the plight of other political prisoners still being held in Russian jails.
Speaking on the tarmac after touching down on US soil, the reporter said he was overwhelmed by the show of support from those gathered.
Mr Gershkovich was among around two dozen people involved in the biggest prisoner swap between the West and Russia since the Cold War.
British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza and former US marine Paul Whelan were among those released by Moscow.
“I just spent a month in prison in Yekaterinburg and basically everybody I sat with is a political prisoner, and nobody knows them publicly,” Mr Gershkovich told The Guardian.
“Today was a really touching moment… but I think it would be good to see if we can potentially do something about them as well,” he added.
According to the Russian human rights group OVD-Info, more than 1,000 people are currently imprisoned in Russia as a result of politically motivated prosecutions.
President Joe Biden, who met Mr Gershkovich and others as they disembarked from their plane, said the American detainees’ “brutal ordeal is over” as he hailed their release as a “feat of diplomacy” involving multiple countries – as well as an “incredible relief” for families.
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Image: Evan Gershkovich at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. Pic: Reuters
Who is Evan Gershkovich?
US journalist Gershkovich was first arrested and detained in March 2023 after Russia claimed he had been “gathering secret information” on orders from the CIA.
President Biden previously said the Wall Street Journal reporter had been “targeted” and that they were “pushing hard” for his release.
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Russian prosecutors alleged he had gathered secret information on the orders of the CIA about a company that manufactures tanks for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Mr Gershkovich, 32, said the charges against him were false and his employer called the case a sham.
He was jailed for 16 years earlier this month after being convicted of espionage in a trial widely seen as politically motivated.
Source : Sky News
