Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) last week made the headlines with a major prisoner swap in the capital Ankara. Many names languishing in prisons while efforts to free them appeared to be futile, walked free, from a prominent journalist to major dissidents of the Kremlin.

The swap was important not only for the large number of exchanged individuals but also for the prominence of those involved. Each swapped individual has a unique story and holds particular significance for their respective countries.

One notable figure is Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter frequently mentioned in global media. Gershkovich was arrested in Russia in March 2023 on espionage charges while working as a reporter there. Russian authorities accused him of collecting secret information about a defense company involved in military equipment production and repair in the Sverdlovsk region. Gershkovich became the first foreign media worker in Russian history to be arrested on espionage charges. At the time of the swap negotiations, he had been sentenced to 19 years in prison by Russia.

Another individual who returned to the U.S. in the swap was Paul Whelan, a former Marine. Whelan, who served for eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps, was arrested in Moscow in 2018 on espionage charges. Canada-born Whelan had U.S., British and Ireland citizenship. When he was arrested in a Moscow hotel, he was in possession of a hard disk allegedly containing confidential information. He claimed a Russian friend gave it to him. In 2022, there were discussions about swapping Whelan for Viktor Bout, who was serving a 10-year sentence in the U.S. for illegal arms trafficking and terrorism financing. However, Whelan was not on the swap list, leading to significant public backlash against the Biden administration.

Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with both U.S. and Russian citizenship, was another person who returned to the U.S. Kurmasheva was detained at an airport in May 2023 while attempting to return to Czechia from Russia due to family reasons. She was convicted on charges of "failing to report as a foreign worker" and "disinformation."

Rico Krieger, who worked for the Red Cross, was detained in Belarus during the Russia-Ukraine war. Krieger claimed he was visiting Belarus as a tourist, but Russia alleged this was a cover for espionage. According to Russia, Krieger was involved with Ukrainian security services. Convicted on six separate charges, Krieger was sentenced to death in Belarus on June 24, 2024, for "terrorism and mercenary activities." Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko later granted clemency. Krieger returned to Germany two days after his pardon through the swap operation in Türkiye.

Another significant figure who returned to Germany in the historic swap was Ilya Yashin. Yashin, a Russian citizen and former mayor of Krasnoselsky, was a close ally of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Yashin was convicted in December 2022 for spreading "false information" about the Russian military.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was another key individual who returned to Germany in the swap. Kara-Murza, sentenced to 25 years in prison, was arrested in April 2022 on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian military, collaborating with an "undesirable organization," and treason. His conviction was widely condemned internationally. While imprisoned, Kara-Murza also wrote articles for The Washington Post.

Speaking last week at a news conference in Bonn, three of the 16 prisoners released in exchange for seven Russians expressed gratitude to the Western governments that had made the swap happen. "What happened on Aug. 1 I don't view as a prisoner swap, I view the operation as my illegal expulsion from Russia against my will, and I say sincerely, more than anything I want now to go back home," Yashin told reporters in Bonn. He added that his task, having being freed, was to continue the fight for freedom and democracy in his country. He had been told that if he attempted to return he would suffer the fate of Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian prison camp last year under unclear circumstances. He added that he was certain that the swap, negotiated by the U.S. and Germany in months of secret talks with Russia, had saved the lives of several of the 16 political prisoners released. "Other prisoners who have health issues should have been exchanged ahead of me," Yashin said during an emotional address to reporters, at one point in which he removed his glasses and seemed to be blinking back tears.

Kara-Murza, who said he had been certain he would never see his wife again and would die in a Russian jail, recalled being asked to write an appeal for clemency to Vladimir Putin. "I said that I consider him not to be a legitimate president, to be a dictator, a usurper and a murderer," he said. "And that I'm not going to sign any petitions for mercy because I'm not guilty of anything." His release some days later came despite that. "Nobody asked our consent ... yet we're here," Kara-Murza said.

When the plane taking him and the other prisoners to Ankara took off, he said the agent escorting him had told him to take a good look because he would never see his homeland again. "And I laughed," he said. "I told him, look, I'm a historian ... I don't only feel, I don't only believe, I know that I'll be back in my home country. And it'll be much quicker than you think."

Vadim Krasikov, a significant figure for Russia, was the only individual brought back from Germany in the swap operation. Krasikov was sent to Berlin by the FSB, receiving special training to assassinate Chechen opposition fighter Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, whom Russian President Putin had labeled a terrorist. In 2019, Krasikov was sentenced to life in prison for killing Khangoshvili in Germany. Initially denying any connection to Russia, Krasikov was later praised by Putin as a "patriot." There were also discussions about swapping Krasikov for opposition politician Alexei Navalny before his death.

In the historic swap, a couple with two children working for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) was included. Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva were caught in Slovenia with false Argentine passports. Anna Dultseva, using the alias Maria Rosa Mayer Munoz, was pretending to be an art gallery owner in Slovenia. The family, along with their two children, was handed over to Russian officials through the swap operation. The children found out they were Russian only after arriving in Türkiye with their parents. Putin welcomed them in Spanish when they arrived in Russia, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.