Prisoner exchange

French nationals released from Iran, returning to France, Macron says

Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris were initially released from Iran's Evin Prison in November 2025 after having been imprisoned there for over three years.

|ByREUTERS
A woman walks past posters with the portraits of Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, two French citizens held in Iran, on the day of support rallies to mark their three-year detention and to demand their release, in front of the National Assembly in Paris, France, May 7, 2025.
HOUTHI SUPPORTERS in Yemen brandish weapons during a demonstration marking Independence Day, the anniversary of the end of British rule in southern Yemen in 1967, in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital Sanaa on November 30, 2025.

Yemeni government, Houthis agree to exchange 3,000 prisoners

Officials from both sides confirmed the deal but offered few details on implementation, leaving observers cautious as they urged follow-through. 

|ByTHE MEDIA LINE STAFF
A group of students attend a gathering in support of an Iranian student prisoner in France, Mahdieh Esfandiari, in front of the French embassy in Tehran, Iran, October 21, 2025

Iran welcomes conditional release of Iranian student in France

The release may be part of a prisoner swap with the potential to free two French nationals from Iranian imprisonment.

|ByREUTERS
Poster for a panel at Panteion University in Athens that will feature Abdel Nasser Issa, a senior Hamas terrorist that was released in February, 2025. October 19, 2025

Senior Hamas terrorist released in deal to speak at Athens university

Senior Hamas terrorist released in February as part of a ransom for October 7 Massacre hostages is set to speak at a Wednesday panel at Panteion University in Athens.

|ByMICHAEL STARR

Walid Daqqah's body will not be returned until hostages are freed, High Court rules

Walid Daqqah was convicted in 1987 for his role as the leader of a terrorist cell responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldier Moshe Tamam.

SEPTEMBER 30, 2024ByBINI ASCHKENASY
View of the Gilboa Prison, near Israel Valley, December 5, 2022

Yulia Navalnaya expresses bittersweet reaction to prisoner swap excluding her late husband

Yulia Navalnaya reflects on the reality of a recent prisoner swap that excluded her late husband, Alexei Navalny, highlighting both the hope and the ongoing struggle for Russia's opposition.

AUGUST 8, 2024ByREUTERS
Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Russian nationals, including Artyom Dultsev, Anna Dultseva and their children, following a prisoner exchange between Russia with Western countries, during a ceremony at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia August 1, 2024.

UAE behind successful prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia

The UAE has facilitated at least five similar prisoner swaps between Russia and Ukraine, the last being in late May of this year.  

JUNE 26, 2024ByTHE MEDIA LINE STAFF
Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan upon arrival at the Abu Dhabi International Airport, United Arab Emirates December 6, 2023

Yom Kippur War: Newly released archives detail Israel's POW deal with Syria

As part of its collection marking fifty years since the Yom Kippur War, the National Archives of Israel has detailed the role of US Sec. of State Henry Kissinger in the Israel-Syria negotiations.

MARCH 1, 2024ByALEX WINSTON
Long-range 175mm artillery in action on the Syrian Front, Yom Kippur War

Hamas rejects hostage deal, Gallant blames its leadership abroad - report

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters on Monday the organization was open to discussing ideas but that no deal was yet in place.

JANUARY 24, 2024ByTOVAH LAZAROFF, REUTERS
HAMAS LEADER Ismail Haniyeh gestures during a news conference in Gaza City earlier this month

Released Palestinian terrorist refuses to leave Israeli jail

Abu Sanima was released to the Gaza Strip to begin his life anew in Rafah, despite a lack of a salary from local authorities.

NOVEMBER 28, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
IDF with Palestinian demonstrators during a rally in solidarity with six Palestinian prisoners who managed to esacpe from an Israeli prison a few days ago, in Hebron, September 9, 2021.

The $6b. paid to Iran for hostage release was blood money - opinion

While the desire to bring American prisoners home is a noble one, the means by which the Biden administration has pursued this goal are deeply flawed.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023ByJOE BUCCINO
Released prisoners are welcomed home at Davison Army Airfield in Virginia, on Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Russian court extends pretrial detention of Jewish journalist Evan Gershkovich until November

Russia may delay a prisoner exchange until after the 2024 presidential election in order to exacerbate discord in the United States.

AUGUST 25, 2023ByJACKIE HAJDENBERG/JTA
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March while on a reporting trip and accused of espionage, is escorted into a court building before a hearing on extending his pre-trial detention, in Moscow, Russia August 24, 2023.