Reporter Evan Gershkovich receives an embrace from a colleague following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States on Thursday. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press

Friends of Wall Street Journal reporter and Bowdoin College alum Evan Gershkovich celebrated his release from a Russian prison Thursday as part of a historic prisoner exchange.

Gershkovich was freed in a 24-person swap between the United States and Russia in Turkey, ending an ordeal that began when he was arrested in March 2023 while on a reporting trip. He was sentenced last month to 16 years in a maximum-security prison on what American officials said were fabricated espionage charges.

The news came as a welcome relief to Gershkovich’s friends and the community at Bowdoin, the private liberal arts college in Brunswick where he graduated in 2014.

“I’m very, very excited and on the edge of my seat waiting for more news,” said Michael Van Itallie, a childhood friend of Gershkovich’s who also attended Bowdoin at the same time.

President Biden, from left, and Vice President Kamala Harris greet reporter Evan Gershkovich at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following his release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States on Thursday. Alex Brandon/Associated Press

In an interview Thursday morning, after the news had broke but before the White House confirmed the release, Van Itallie, of New York City, said he was anxiously waiting for confirmation and proof that Gershkovich would be coming home. “But it’s a very exciting day,” he said.

The White House did later confirm the release of Gershkovich along with two other American citizens and one American green card holder who were unjustly imprisoned. Among them is Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who has been imprisoned since 2018 and whose detainment in Russia also has been highly publicized.

“The deal that secured their freedom was a feat of diplomacy,” President Biden said in a statement from the White House. “All told, we’ve negotiated the release of 16 people from Russia – including five Germans and seven Russian citizens who were political prisoners in their own country.

“Some of these women and men have been unjustly held for years. All have endured unimaginable suffering and uncertainty. Today, their agony is over.”

LONG WAIT COMES TO AN END

Gershkovich pursued a career in journalism after studying philosophy at Bowdoin, and landed at the Wall Street Journal in 2022. He had been living and reporting in Russia when he was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg and accused of spying.

The WSJ newsroom after Emma Tucker announced Evan Gershkovich had been released pic.twitter.com/yoEQRNWIr6

— Vaughn Sterling (@vplus) August 1, 2024

Gershkovich’s arrest drew national and international interest as it was seen as part of a crackdown on journalism by Russian authorities. The U.S. government rejected the charges against Gershkovich as fabricated, with Biden saying at the time of his conviction that Gershkovich “was targeted by the Russian government because he is a journalist and an American.”

The Bowdoin community has been active in defending Gershkovich and calling for his release. The college said last month following news of his sentencing that it “continues to hope for Evan’s early release and an end to this nightmare for him, his family, and his many friends.”

“We are deeply relieved and overjoyed to learn of Evan’s release from wrongful detention in Russia, where he was doing his job as a journalist,” Bowdoin President Safa R. Zaki said in a statement Thursday.

“We are grateful to everyone who supported Evan during these last sixteen months, including his Bowdoin classmates and friends, other alumni, government officials, and his colleagues at The Wall Street Journal, who never lost sight of his ordeal and who advocated for his release from the moment he was detained. Our hearts are with Evan and his family as they reunite and celebrate his long overdue freedom.”

After enduring unimaginable suffering and uncertainty, the Americans detained in Russia are safe, free, and have begun their journeys back into the arms of their families. pic.twitter.com/1rYNBTt9tJ

— President Biden (@POTUS) August 1, 2024

Gershkovich is now on his way home, according to a statement from Wall Street Journal Publisher and Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker. They said the situation has been difficult for his family, including his parents, Ella Milman and Michail Gershkovich, and his sister Danielle and her husband Anthony.

“Evan and his family have displayed unrivaled courage, resilience and poise during this ordeal, which came to an end because of broad advocacy for his release around the world,” the statement said.

Gershkovich’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from the former Soviet Union and he was born in the U.S. and grew up in New Jersey. Friends and co-workers told the Press Herald last fall that he was interested in Russia because it was the place his parents had left behind, and because he personally found it intriguing and a place full of good stories to tell.

In a statement, Gershkovich’s family thanked Biden and other U.S. and foreign officials who helped with his release, as well as his friends and colleagues for their support.

“We have waited 491 days for Evan’s release, and it’s hard to describe what today feels like,” the statement said. “We can’t wait to give him the biggest hug and see his sweet and brave smile up close. Most important now is taking care of Evan and being together again.”

‘INCREDIBLE NEWS’

Nora Biette-Timmons, a friend of Gershkovich’s from Bowdoin who now lives in Berlin, said in an email that she was happy to hear reports of his release. “I’m overjoyed and so relieved at today’s news,” Biette-Timmons said.

“What incredible news,” Bowdoin professor Brock Clarke said. “(It’s) a tragedy and travesty that Evan was imprisoned in the first place, and for so long, but man, I’m so happy he’s free.”

Clarke first met Gershkovich in his introductory fiction workshop class, describing him as an empathetic and deft writer, and kept in touch with him for several years after he graduated.

“What a terrific thing to see a student you knew back when become a standout professional writer,” Clarke said. “And that is what Evan is – a real pro – dedicated, thorough, brave. I can’t wait to see him get back to it.”

Bowdoin Professor Henry Laurence said he never taught Gershkovich but knew him during his time at the college. He described the journalist as a “big figure” on campus, even after he graduated in 2014, and said his arrest impacted many people within the community.

Like many of Gershkovich’s friends, Laurence said he was shocked when he learned of his arrest and is relieved that he’s finally coming home. He also said he was delighted efforts to bring him home have paid off.

“This is a happy ending to a terrible story,” he said, adding that he hopes Gershkovich has enough time and support to recover from such a “terrible experience.”

Reporter Evan Gershkovich hugs his mother, Ella Milman, as President Biden, right, looks on Thursday at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., following their release as part of a 24-person prisoner swap between Russia and the United States. Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press

“It seems completely unbelievable to anyone that knows Evan that he would have been involved in the things he was accused of,” Laurence said, noting that there was no evidence produced publicly that supported the espionage charges.

“Everything about it reads like they snatched him for sort of political purposes, but it ultimately happened. He was an asset that they knew people in the U.S. would care about and so it was to their advantage to take him and make the story up.”

Though Bowdoin­ professor and political scientist Laura Henry does not know Gershkovich personally, she has been following his reporting and his legal case in Russia. Upon hearing the news of the swap, she said that the Bowdoin community was likely celebrating his release, which she described as a “relief” and “fantastic news.”

Members of Maine’s Congressional delegation, including Sens. Angus King and Susan Collins and Rep. Chellie Pingree, cheered Gershkovich’s release in statements Thursday and said he had been wrongly imprisoned.

“I am ecstatic to hear the news that Americans, among them Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, have been released from Russia and are on their way home,” said King, who is from Brunswick. “For far too long, they have both been imprisoned arbitrarily as part of (Vladimir) Putin’s global war on democracy and freedom of speech.”