Princeton celebrates release of Evan Gershkovich from Russian prison

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Former Princeton High School’s soccer coach Wayne Sutcliffe recalled Wall Street Journal reporter and his former student Evan Gershkovich as “an inspiration.”

“Not just for our soccer team, but for our entire school,” Sutcliffe said.

Gershkovich was released Thursday as part of the largest multi-prisoner swap since the Cold War ended. He is one of 16 people jailed in Russia, including dissidents and another journalist, being exchanged for eight Russians imprisoned in the U.S. and several other countries.

The Princeton, New Jersey, native was arrested by the KGB in March 2023 while on an assignment in Yekaterinburg. The Russian government charged him with espionage. Last month, he was sentenced to serve 16 years in a maximum-security prison. A friend announced on social media that Gershkovich was expected to arrive at an air force base in Maryland Thursday evening.

In Princeton, where Gershkovich grew up, school and local officials celebrated the return of the soccer star, who led the soccer team when Princeton won the state championship in 2009. Gershkovich graduated from the school in 2010.

“Frankly, there’s really no words to express how happy we are. There have been tears, there has been joy, there have been hugs,” said Princeton High School Principal Cecelia Birge. “I think I speak for my entire learning community at PHS that we’re just so happy for the family and for Evan, we can’t wait to welcome him home.”

Birge said Gershkovich’s story of imprisonment had deeply affected the school community, which came together to advocate for his release.

“We have run various events, we had a white-out at homecoming for him, we had T-shirts,” she said.

Mia Sacks, the Princeton Council President and a graduate of Princeton High School, has worked with Helsinki Watch, an organization that advocated for the release of political prisoners, and the Soros Foundation. She said the facility where Gershkovich was held is dark, cold and is “designed to break the prisoner, to break their soul, it’s like being in isolation.”

Sacks commended Gershkovich for his resilient spirit. She said in the videos where he made his court appearances, he held strong.

“You could see how he was working very hard to maintain his humanity and sense of self, it requires tremendous fortitude to maintain really your sanity,” she said

During his time in prison, Gershkovich played chess with his father, Mikhail Gershkovich — who lives in Philadelphia — by mail, one move at a time. Gershkovich’s sister, Danielle, another Philadelphian, became an outspoken hostage advocate while her brother was in prison.

“It’s terrible to think of what he had to go through, being held so long, just a terrible thing that he had to endure, so we’re happy that it’s over,” Princeton Mayor Mark Freda said. “He’s a native son and what anybody goes through, I think we all kind of go through and feel for each other.”

Gov. Phil Murphy, who is traveling out of the country, released a statement, saying he is praying for Gershkovich safety and health as he returns home to his family and re-acclimates to life here.

“I’d like to thank President Biden and our allies involved in this complex, multilateral negotiation for their work in bringing Evan and other wrongfully detained Americans home,” Murphy said.

P. Kenneth Burns, president of the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists, said in a statement that the Garden State’s journalist community stands in solidarity with their Wall Street Journal colleagues “who have done a great job advocating for their reporter while honoring his work at the Journal at the same time.”

“We are relieved to know that Evan Gershkovich is a free man from an unjust conviction in a rigged court trial,” Burns said. “We also want to reiterate to political leaders abroad, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, and here in New Jersey: JOURNALISM IS NOT A CRIME.”

Editor’s note: P. Kenneth Burns, president of the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists, is WHYY News’s New Jersey reporter.

Reporter Sophia Schmidt contributed to this story.