Today, their agony is over,
Reporting on Russia is now also a regular practice of watching people you know get locked away for years."
The ball is in the United States' court,
I think if you let the pessimism in ... the game is over,
It's amazing to see that headline from The Wall Street Journal, because we didn't know when that finally would be coming. But today was the day. This is obviously a historic day,
We decided two things, really the moment that we knew this happened… the first was that we wanted to be the employer that you would want, if you were in Evan’s situation,
Smiles of joy, tears of relief: Evan Gershkovich and others held in Russia are on their way home. It has been 16 months of wrongful imprisonment for Evan. We celebrate with his wonderful family and all the families reunited today,
We’re beyond thrilled to welcome our friend Evan back home. We want to thank all those who worked tirelessly for his return over the past 16 months, including his friends, President Biden, and especially his family,
The second was, that we wanted to be loud to make sure that we could try and set the landscape for a successful negotiation. We did not do that ourselves, we did that with the help of so many colleagues in the media,
Evan’s seizure generated a wellspring of support for him and the broader cause of press freedom - we are SO grateful to everyone who stood with Evan. You created the landscape on which successful negotiations could happen and didn’t let up,
Because of those collective efforts, and the government’s determination to bring back its citizens, this happened today,
And it is a joyous day for the relatives and friends of the other wrongfully detained Americans and German citizens who returned home and for the Russian political prisoners who were released to the West,
It is a joyous day for Evan’s family, friends and colleagues, who have worried about him and supported him these past 16 months. It is a joyous day for the millions of well-wishers in the U.S. and around the world who stood with Evan and defended the free press,
We are also grateful to the other governments that helped bring an end to Evan’s nightmare, in particular the German government that played such a critical role,
We know the U.S. government is keenly aware, as are we, that the only way to prevent a quickening cycle of arresting innocent people as pawns in cynical geopolitical games is to remove the incentive for Russia and other nations that pursue the same detestable practice,
Now that Evan is home, we plan to give him as much time and space as he needs to restore himself, reconnect, and ponder the next steps in his life and career,
While we waited for this momentous day, we were determined to be as loud as we could be on Evan’s behalf. We are so grateful for all the voices that were raised when his was silent. We can finally say, in unison, ‘Welcome home, Evan,
My greatest thanks, though, must go to Evan himself,
It has been our honor to have got to know Evan’s family—Ella, Mikhail, Danielle and Anthony—and we have marveled at their good grace, fortitude and wisdom under such pressure. We can imagine and share in their joy and relief at the return of their son and brother,
This is an incredible relief for all the family members gathered here,