Lesser-known facts about the father of modern science
She was released in exchange for Viktor Bout, a high-profile Russian arms dealer who has been in US custody since being caught during a sting operation in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2008.
The story that brought the USSR and the US to that tense moment on the bridge in 1960 is long and winding, starting 10 years earlier with the arrest of Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy. To everyone's advantage, Abel was saved from the death sentence, and was instead kept in custody until he could be of use. When American U-2 spy plane pilot Francis Powers (pictured) was shot down by the Soviets, Abel finally came in handy.
One of the most famous prisoner swaps of the Cold War, of which there were many, took place on the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin, which acted as a passage between East and West Germany.
Indeed, prisoner swaps have long been a staple of tentative diplomacy during times of tension. Trades can be made for civilian lives, political prisoners, or, often, spies. Let's look at some of the most high-profile prisoner swaps in modern history.
Ten months after first being detained by Russian authorities for having a marijuana vape cartridge in her possession, two-time Olympic champion and WNBA all-star Britney Griner was released into American custody on December 8, 2022.
Without the leverage of having Abel, there's no way the United States would have gotten their man back. But with Abel in their custody, they were able to convince the USSR to conduct a prisoner swap on February 10, 1962.
Five Cuban intelligence officers, known as the Cuban Five, were all arrested in Miami, Florida, in 1998 on espionage charges. Cuba eventually confirmed their status as intelligence agents, but not until 2001.
When the Cuban Five were traded for a CIA officer who had fallen into Cuban custody, they were welcomed back home as national heroes who suffered trying to protect their home from further terrorism. Many historians also consider this swap to be the beginning of easing tensions between Cuba and the United States.
In exchange for Jibril's release, among others, Israel received three Israeli soldiers, including Hezi Shai (pictured), who had been captured by resistance forces during the First Lebanon War.
Cuba explained that the five agents weren't spying on American citizens, but were in fact spying on Cuban-American paramilitary groups in response to the deadly Havana bombings in 1997.
Ex-United States Marine Corps officer Trevor Reed was arrested in 2019 after a night of heavy drinking when he allegedly tried to attack a police officer in Moscow.
Reed was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, despite his vehement denial of ever assaulting a police officer. His family in the United States pressured the White House for years to demand Reed's release.
There have been many prisoner swaps between Palestine and Israeli forces since the Israeli occupation began in 1948. One of the most controversial, and important, was the 1985 Jibril agreement, named after Ahmed Jibril (pictured), founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
In April, 2022, Reed was released back to the United States and to his family in exchange for one Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot and airline owner who was arrested by US agents in Liberia in 2010 for his part in a drug smuggling conspiracy.
Sources: (SPYSCAPE) (Grunge) (BBC)
See also: The world's most notorious spies
One of the final events of the Korean War was 1953's Operation Big Switch. This was a joint effort between North Korea and the United states to hand over all remaining prisoners of war.
Operation Big Switch occurred on August 5, 1953, just weeks after the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed by the United Nations, North Korea, and China.
Operation Big Switch was one of the largest prisoner swaps in history, with North Korea giving up 12,773 POWs, and the United Nations giving up 75,823 prisoners.
Other leaders freed from Israeli custody included Ziyad al-Nakhalah, current leader of the PIJ terror group, and Imam Ahmed Yassin (pictured), who was considered the "spiritual leader" of Hamas until his assassination in 2004. All of these men are considered terrorists by Israel, making the decision for their release highly controversial.
After more than two weeks of heated discussions and plenty of finger-pointing between the two superpowers, Daniloff and Zakharov were exchanged on September 23.
US Army soldier Dowe Bergdahl was captured by the Taliban in 2009, after deserting his post in Afghanistan. It would be five years until he was finally released into United States custody.
On September 2, 1986, American journalist Nicholas Daniloff (pictured, waving) was arrested by KGB agents in Moscow on charges of espionage.
United States intelligence refuted the claim that Daniloff was a spy, and believed instead that his arrest was a direct retaliation of the US' own arrest of one Gennadi Zakharov (pictured, middle), a Soviet physicist who had been arrested attempting to buy classified aircraft information in a sting operation three days earlier.
Bergdahl was given back in exchange for five high-profile Afghan prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay military prison, where they had been held without charges since 2002.
The members of the sleeper cell were arrested on charges of carrying out "long-term, deep-cover" operations in the US. They were given back to Russia in July of 2010, in exchange for four Russian dissidents who were jailed for high treason, including Igor Sutyagin (pictured), who collected information regarding Russian nuclear capabilities.
One of the most sensational stories of espionage and intrigue involved a group of 10 "sleeper agents" working for the Russian government, who were in deep cover posing as American citizens for, in some cases, decades.
Upon his return to the United States in 2014, Bergdahl was promptly put on trial for desertion. He was stripped of his rank and demoted to private, and was docked US$1,000 a month from his pay for 10 months.
American citizen Xiyue Wang was arrested in 2016 by Iranian forces who charged him with espionage. Wang maintained his complete innocence up to and after his release in 2019.
Originally sentenced to 10 years in prison, Wang was released into US custody after only three. He was exchanged for the Iranian scientist Masoud Soleimani, who had been detained by the United States for breaking Iranian sanctions.
The incredible story of the years-long investigation, known as Operation Ghost Stories, and the succeeding arrest and prisoner swap, was dramatized in the American television show 'The Americans.' The spy who received the most press coverage, Anna Chapman (pictured), returned to Russia to become an entrepreneur, runway model, and designer.
Prisoner swaps occur between two countries, usually involved in a conflict of some sort, when they find it mutually beneficial to release political prisoners, prisoners of war, people charged with espionage, and others, in exchange for the same. This has been a common practice in most of modern history, especially during the Cold War, when espionage was a primary tactic. From the legendary Russian sleeper agent Anna Chapman to the American WNBA champion Brittney Griner, history has been traded back and forth in the form of human beings.
The horrifying war that broke out between Israel and Palestine in October 2023 has seen thousands of civilians killed in a matter of days. The Palestinian militant group Hamas crossed the border on October 7 and carried out the largest attack on Israeli soil in many years. They killed over 1,000 people and took around 200 hostages into Gaza. The majority of the hostages are Israeli, but there are also several people of other nationalities who were captured during the conflict. Hamas has referred to hostages of other nationalities as "guests" and said that they "seek to protect them." A Hamas spokesperson claimed that they "will release detainees of different nationalities when circumstances on the ground allow." Gaza is currently being bombarded with merciless airstrikes from Israel, and a ground invasion seems to be imminent. Within a week of Hamas' attack, more than 2,300 Palestinians have been killed by the bombing, including hundreds of children. Israeli Prime Minister promised, "We will turn Gaza into a deserted island. To the citizens of Gaza, I say. You must leave now. We will target each and every corner of the strip.” However, Israel and Egpyt have blockaded every route out of Gaza.
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said on October 16 that the group "has what it needs" to secure the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Al Jazeera reports that there are currently more than 5,000 Palestinians behind bars in Israel, including 33 women and 170 children.
In 2011, Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners for the safe return of a single Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit. With 200 Israeli hostages today, Meshaal says they will be able to "empty the prisons of all prisoners." Officials from Qatar are reportedly mediating urgent negotiations between Hamas and Israel to organize an exchange.
As the war in the Middle East rages on, read on to learn more about the most famous prisoner exchanges in history.