WASHINGTON — President Biden led a crowd at the White House on Thursday in singing “Happy Birthday” to the daughter of one of the prisoners freed in a Russian swap, embracing her through tears at the end of what he called a “brutal ordeal.”
Biden invited attendees in the White House State Dining Room to sing for Miriam Butorin, whose mother, Arush Kurmasheva, was released from Russian detention just one day before her 13th birthday. Also in attendance were U.S. permanent resident Vladimir Kara-Murza and U.S. citizens Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich.
“As of today, my administration has brought home more than 70 Americans who were wrongfully detained or held hostage overseas,” the president declared, referring to executive actions his administration has taken to implement sanctions and travel bans against those who held them captive.
“They never gave up hope. I can’t imagine what they’ve been through,” the president said of the released prisoners and their families.
“Tomorrow is a big day, Miriam’s 13th birthday,” he added, pausing to give her a hug and sing her “Happy Birthday,” welcoming her into “the Biden family tradition.”
After the song finished, Biden couldn’t help but crack a joke to lighten the mood.
“Just remember that you won’t be dating a serious man until you’re 30,” he said, drawing sporadic laughter from those in attendance. “God loves you.”
Butrin returned, hugged his family and wiped away tears.
“Now she can celebrate with her mother, which is everything,” he added warmly.
Through a series of executive orders, the Biden administration imposed sanctions and travel bans on several countries that held Americans hostage, after which more than 70 prisoners were released.
Russia on Thursday released a total of 16 prisoners in exchange for eight Russians being held in Western countries, including Russian hitman Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany for murder.
“I brought innocent people home,” Biden responded. The Daily Mail asks About trade-offs.
Of the 16 prisoners who left Russia, three were Americans and one was a permanent resident of the United States, five were Germans and seven were Russian nationals who had been held in their home country.
Whelan, a Marine Corps veteran, was jailed on unfounded espionage charges in 2018, while Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was recently sentenced to 16 years in prison on bogus espionage charges.
Kurmasheva, a dual American-Russian citizen and reporter for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, had been sentenced to more than six years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian military.
Kara Murza, a Washington Post columnist, was charged with treason and sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2022 for speaking out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Their brutal ordeal is over and they are free,” the president celebrated after the four prisoners, represented by their families at the White House, were flown to Ankara, Turkey, ahead of their scheduled arrival in the United States.
The prisoners’ release comes just over a week after Biden abandoned his 2024 reelection campaign and replaced him with Vice President Kamala Harris as the top Democratic candidate.
