Alsu Kurmasheva's family still in 'disbelief' she's free after Russian prisoner exchange
Alsu Kurmasheva's family has been in disbelief since being invited to the White House and learning of her release in Thursday's historical 24-prisoner exchange between the United States, Russia and several other countries.
Speaking with "ABC News Live," Kurmasheva's husband, Pavel Butorin, said he will believe it when he sees his wife and can hug her.
"I'm still in disbelief. I think I'll believe it when I actually see Alsu … when we are able to hug her. It's been an unreal day," Butorin said.
Kurmasheva landed back on U.S. soil at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., late Thursday evening. She was greeted by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris before being hugged by her husband and two daughters.
Kurmasheva's oldest daughter Bibi Butorin said her younger sister's 13th birthday is on Friday, calling their mom's return the "best birthday present ever."
A court convicted Kurmasheva -- a Russian-American journalist working for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), who lived in Prague, Czech Republic for over two decades -- last month for spreading false information about the Russian army.
Her conviction and six-and-a-half-year prison sentence by a court in Kazan, Russia, came on the same day another Russian court convicted Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years.
Gershkovich was also released in the prisoner exchange.
Butorin and his daughter, Bibi Butorin said they were able to speak with Kurmasheva on the phone from the White House before she landed back in the U.S.
"She's in good spirits, and she's so happy to be coming home to us," Bibi Butorin told "ABC News Live."
The family took the phone call while standing next to the president.
"It was something very special to us," Pavel Butorin said.
Bibi Butorin told "ABC News Live" that the months apart from her mom were hard, and she is thankful Kurmasheva is coming home.
"I think for me, definitely it was very discouraging not having my mom with me, especially for so many months. I missed her. I still miss her more than I can even say. And so I'm so grateful and happy that she [gets] to come back to me," she said.
Kurmasheva traveled to Russia in May 2023 to help care for her mother. She was temporarily detained at the Kazan airport after trying to return home in June. Authorities confiscated her U.S. and Russian passports, preventing her from leaving the country.
She was eventually fined 10,000 rubles ($103) for failure to register her U.S. passport with Russian authorities. However, before she could pay the fine, she was detained again on Oct. 18, 2023, for failing to declare herself a "foreign agent," according to RFE/RL.
In December, Russian authorities launched a third investigation against her for "spreading false information" about Russia's military. She was convicted following a "rapid and secret trial" that lasted only two days, according to the Associated Press.
On Thursday afternoon, Harris, the now-presumptive Democratic Party nominee, made a statement to cameras as she left Houston, notably mentioning her role in the prisoner release.
"Over many years, President Biden and I, and our team have engaged in complex diplomatic negotiations to bring these wrongfully detained Americans home," Harris said. "We never stopped fighting for their release, and today, in spite of all of their suffering, it gives me great comfort to know that their horrible ordeal is finally over."
