Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty hails Turkish efforts in historic prisoner swap, including one of its journalists

By Gozde Bayar

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Thursday thanked Türkiye for its efforts in a historic prisoner exchange operation, which led to the release of one of its journalists, Alsu Kurmasheva from detention in Russia.

“On behalf of all of us at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), I am writing to extend our heartfelt gratitude for the Republic of Türkiye’s dedicated efforts leading to the release of our colleague, Alsu Kurmasheva, from wrongful detention in Russia,” Stephen Capus, head of the RFE/RL said in a letter sent to the Turkish Ambassador to Prague Egemen Bagis.

Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) coordinated a historic prisoner exchange operation on Aug. 1, involving 26 prisoners from seven countries in one of the most extensive swap operations in recent years. During the operation, 10 prisoners, including two children, were sent to Russia, 13 to Germany, and three to the US.

Noting that Türkiye immediately supported Kurmasheva’s case, Capus said they truly appreciated Turkish swift and compassionate response.

“We recognize the pivotal role Türkiye played in this welcome exchange and hope you will convey our deepest gratitude to your government for its indispensable contributions,” he added.

Stressing that Türkiye’s “unique role” on the world stage is evident, he said the country’s support in this matter reinforced their belief in the importance of international cooperation in the “face of injustice.”

Kurmasheva is a Prague-based Russian-American journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Tatar-Bashkir Service. Kurmasheva was arrested in Kazan, Russia on Oct. 18, 2023.

The RFE/RL continues to think of their colleagues who are still “unjustly” behind bars, including Ukrainian journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, who has been held in Russia-occupied Crimea since March 2021, he added.

He hoped the collaboration would continue so that Yesypenko could be reunited with his family.

As part of the largest prisoner exchange in the last 80 years since World War II, a total of 26 people were transferred to Türkiye with seven planes, including two from the US, one each from Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, and Russia. Health checks and identification of the hostages were also carried out by MIT personnel. It was announced that US President Joe Biden also followed the operation live.