Wall Street Journal celebrates joyous day as Evan Gershkovich finally returns home [Video]

The Wall Street Journal saw one of its own unjustly imprisoned across the world for nearly 500 grueling days. Now it’s celebrating the freedom of reporter Evan Gershkovich, who had been wrongfully detained in Russia since last March.

Gershkovich, American veteran Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a green card holder, are coming home after a massive swap of political prisoners involving the United States, Russia, and other countries. The WSJ has spent 16 months working to keep Gershkovich’s plight at the forefront, and staffers finally got to celebrate on Thursday. 

“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,” Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker wrote. 

“And it is a joyous day …