After the unprecedented prisoner exchange between Russia and the USA and other Western states, the released Kremlin opponents are speaking out for the first time. And there are astonishing insights.
After the major prisoner exchange, opposition members who had been released from Russian custody publicly thanked the German government. Decisions are not easy in democracies, and it was not easy for the German government either, but human life is of the highest value to civilized societies, said prominent Kremlin opponent Vladimir Kara-Mursa to journalists in Bonn. “Simple decisions only exist in dictatorships.”
Opposition politician Ilya Yashin said that he had personally thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the difficult decision to hand over the convicted murderer Vadim Krassikov in order to free opponents of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. At the same time, he stressed that he had been exchanged against his will. His request to leave him in his homeland had been ignored by the prison system. “This is a violation of the law.” There are other, seriously ill people who should have been exchanged, he stressed.
Kara-Mursa also said that he had refused to ask Putin for clemency. Instead, he once again clearly described Putin as a murderer and war criminal and was then taken away at night. “I thought I was going to be shot.” According to the law, he was not actually allowed to be pardoned. He did not even have a passport. “I was sure that I would die in Putin’s prison.”
Released Russians demand further prisoner exchange
Yashin disagreed with the view that the exchange would encourage Putin to take new hostages in order to force the release of even more Russians imprisoned in the West. Putin is a dictator and will continue to torture people regardless of the prisoner exchange. “My goal is to return to Russia. This is my homeland.” He would never accept the role of an emigrant.
Kara-Mursa also thanked the US and Britain for their help in freeing Putin’s prisoners. His first phone call after his release was with US President Joe Biden. Efforts must continue. Hundreds of people are still in prison in Russia because of their political views, he said. Opposition activist Andrei Pivovarov also asked for a fight for those who are still in prison camps in Russia.
Pivovarov and Kara-Murza stressed that not all Russians supported Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine. However, many were afraid of ending up behind bars for their criticism. The opposition members stressed that their goal was to fight for a free and civilized Russia in order to return there one day.
Source: Stern
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