AP
The Issue: The release of The Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich and others from Russian custody.
Wall Street Journal journalist Gershkovich, former Marine Paul Whelan and others were recently released from Russia (“Evan homecoming!” Aug. 2).
I’m glad to see them freed, as every American should be. After all, Whelan is a former Marine and veteran. I’m just a bit curious, if not infinitely mystified, by the politically convenient timing of all this, given recent calls for President Biden to step down.
Richard Oakes
Hollywood, Fla.
Odd how, mere months before the 2024 presidential election, the Democratic regime manages to get Gershkovich and Whelan released from Russian custody.
It took them all this time to get Whelan out? Well, voila: The Democrats needed something to attract votes.
The Democrats certainly haven’t done much in the last four years for the American people. I’m happy the men are out, but I think this prisoner-exchange deal was something to give the Democrats a political boost in anticipation of the coming election.
Brenda Hodgkiss
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Thank God that Gershkovich has finally been released from Russian custody, where he was falsely held on charges of being an American spy.
It seems that our prayers have been answered. What a joyful reunion for him and his family as he enjoys freedom again.
A message should go out to all Americans, whether journalists or not: It is not safe to travel to Russia. If you do, you risk being taken hostage and imprisoned for no valid reason.
May the lengthy period of time that Gershkovich endured the hell of the Russian judicial and penal system never befall another American ever again.
Oren Spiegler
Peters Township, Penn.
Freedom is something to be cherished.
Just ask Gershkovich, who had been held in Russian captivity for over 16 months, and former Marine Whelan, who had been held for more than five years.
Both men probably thought they would never see their families again, but now they have returned to US soil. Americans are frequently seen as bargaining tools by hostile countries, and they should not travel to these places under any circumstances.
Let us be grateful for the return of these honorable men back to America.
Joann Frank
Clearwater, Fla.
After happily hearing of the recent hostage releases, I couldn’t help but think of Russian election collusion.
The sudden release and lack of clear information from the Biden administration further back this theory. No surprise then that Russia would love to deal with a giggling Vice President Kamala Harris rather than former President Donald Trump.
Steven Cassidy
Franklin Square
I’m overjoyed. On Aug. 1, Americans Whelan and Gershkovich were released in a prisoner swap from Russian captivity.
However, Whelan, a straight white man and former Marine, was incarcerated on false charges for over five years.
Compare that to Brittney Griner, an African-American lesbian basketball player who verifiably committed a crime in Russia and was released after just 10 months in custody as the Biden administration went into overdrive to secure her freedom.
Until now, the Democratic Party has prioritized gender, sexual orientation and race over everything else — especially when a straight white man faced years in a Siberian penal colony.
Scott Hammond
Boston, Mass.
Fantastic — President Biden has secured a prisoner exchange for the release of several Americans held by Putin, including Gershkovich, who was convicted after a sham trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Unfortunately, the United States had to agree to release some very bad people, among them a vicious Russian hitman. Perhaps Biden can now turn his attention to the Americans being held hostage by Hamas since its Oct. 7, 2023, incursion into Israel.
Barry Koppel
Kew Gardens
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