FURTHER UPDATE: Release of Russian artist Sasha Skochilenko 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MAY 16: <> during the 2024 PEN America Spring Literary Gala at American Museum of Natural History on May 16, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images PEN America)

(NEW YORK)— PEN America expressed relief and joy today over the reported release from a Russian prison of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Washington Post columnist Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva as part of a prisoner swap. PEN America also celebrates the release of Russian.artist Sasha Skochilenko and continues to urge the release of all writers and artists unjustly imprisoned in Russia.

“We are overjoyed by reports that Evan Gershkovich, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alsu Kurmasheva, Sasha Skochilenko, among unjustly imprisoned writers and artists, are finally free,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, director, PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center. “The Putin regime’s attempts to silence and intimidate brave journalists, writers, and dissidents has never succeeded in dimming the light of inspiration they offer the world. We are overwhelmingly relieved that Evan and Vladimir will be reunited with their families and able to return to their crucial work of truth-telling and holding despots and the powerful to account. And we call on the Russian government to free all  others who remain unjustly behind bars.”

At its Literary Gala earlier this year, PEN America honored Wall Street Journal CEO and Publisher Almar Latour with the 2024 Business Visionary Award for his dedication to a free press and unyielding efforts to free Evan Gershkovich from Russian detention.

Earlier this week, reports began circulating that Gershkovich, Kara-Murza, and other writers and political prisoners had been moved from their locations of imprisonment. Sources familiar with the planning had indicated that as many as 30 people could be included in a broader prisoner swap with the United States and Germany.

A senior Biden administration official told CBS that RFE/RL editor Alsu Kurmasheva would be part of a prisoner swap, in addition to Gershkovich. Kurmasheva and Gershkovich are U.S. citizens. Anti-war artist Sasha Skochilenko is also rumored to be missing from her location of imprisonment. The Insider, a Russian independent media outlet, reported that Skochilenko and Kurmasheva are among the political prisoners included in the prisoner swap.

In the last two weeks, the Russian authorities handed down harsh sentences to several unjustly jailed journalists and writers: Gershkovich and Kurmasheva were sentenced to 16 years and 6.5 years in prison, respectively, while Masha Gessen and Mikhail Zygar were convicted and sentenced in absentia.

During 2023, at least 16 writers in Russia have been unjustly incarcerated for their free expression, according to PEN America’s latest Freedom to Write Index. Russia ranks as the 6th worst jailer in the world of writers, tied with Belarus. 2023 marked the first year Russia appeared in the Index’s top 10 list, underscoring the impact of war and conflict on freedom of expression. Mariana Katzarova, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation for human rights in Russia, warned that the Russian government has persecuted cultural figures for political dissent. The Committee to Protect Journalists recorded 22 journalists jailed in Russia at the end of 2023.

About PEN America

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.

Contact: Suzanne Trimel, [email protected], 201-247-5057