Husband of freed Russian-American journalist recalls moment he saw her on tarmac
As he stood on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews late Thursday night, Pavel Butorin was in disbelief.
As he stood on the tarmac of Joint Base Andrews late Thursday night, Pavel Butorin was in disbelief.
Days before, his wife of two decades — Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — had been sentenced to 6½ years in a Russian prison for spreading false information about the country’s military, a conviction press freedom and human rights groups denounced as politically-motivated.
Kurmasheva, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen whose family lives in Prague, was first detained in Russia in June 2023 and spent nine months in a Russian prison, according to her employer, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
But late Thursday, Butorin and their daughters watched as Kurmasheva, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Marine veteran Paul Whelan arrived at the Maryland facility.
“It was only then when I realized it is actually happening,” Butorin told NBC News.
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