Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva said she’s “finally being treated as a human being” following her release from Russian detention in a historic prisoner exchange between Washington and the Kremlin last week.
“I’ve been waking up from that nightmare,” Kurmasheva told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” in her first television interview since her release. “I had a feeling I fell asleep 10 months ago, and now I’m getting out of it.” Kurmasheva and fellow freed Americans Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan were reunited with their families in an emotional scene at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland last week.
“You always assume a risk in these situations, and the president has been willing to make these hard decisions,” Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens said. Carstens, who was also involved in the high-profile releases of former Marine Trevor Reed and WNBA star Brittney Griner from Russian detention, has served as the US’ top hostage negotiator since 2020. The diplomat told Tapper that he once had 54 hostage cases that are “now down to just over 20.
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