After the unprecedented prisoner exchange between Russia and the West, the released Kremlin opponents are speaking out for the first time. They have a common goal.
Oppositionists released from Russian custody as part of the large prisoner exchange want to continue to campaign for a free Russia. Ilya Yashin, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, announced to journalists in Bonn that he would continue his political fight for a free Russia from exile. Russian oppositionist Vladimir Kara-Murza declared that he wanted to fight for sanctions against the “murderous regime of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin” as he did before his imprisonment.
Targeted punitive measures against individual officials in the power apparatus are the most effective, said Kara-Mursa. Many of the sanctions imposed in the wake of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine now affect ordinary people. “That is not fair.”
Kara-Mursa again blamed Putin personally for the death of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny in the penal camp in the Arctic region in February. At the same time, he said that overcoming previous resistance in Germany to the extradition of the “Tiergarten murderer” Vadim Krasikov could have saved Navalny’s life. “It may well be that Alexei would still be alive and free today,” he said. He appealed to politicians in Germany not to forget, in the debate about handing Krasikov over to Putin, that 16 human lives had been saved in return.
Yashin: more than 1000 war opponents in custody
In an unprecedented prisoner exchange, Russia and Belarus released 16 people on Thursday who had been imprisoned for their activities as journalists, artists, opposition members or activists, among other things. In return, ten people were handed over to Moscow, including the convicted “Tiergarten murderer” Vadim Krassikov and spies.
Those released from prison also thanked the German government. Yashin also called on the West to work for the release of other opponents of the Russian war of aggression who are imprisoned in Russia. More than 1,000 people are in Russian prison camps because they are against the war. A major amnesty is needed for them.
Kremlin opponents: regime can collapse quickly
Kara-Mursa, himself a historian, said that Russian history shows that a system of rule in Russia can collapse within a matter of days – as happened during the Tsarist era and at the end of the Soviet Union. This gives hope for change, that Russia, in which a “regime of murderers” is in charge today, will become a normal and civilized country. Europe cannot live in peace, security and stability if the largest country on the continent is not free and modern.
Yashin said that he had personally thanked Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the difficult decision to hand over the convicted murderer Krassikov in order to free Putin’s opponents. 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.”
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. The opposition members stressed that their goal is to fight for a free and civilized Russia in order to return there one day.
Released German-Russian Lick surprised by exchange
German-Russian Kevin Lick, who was released as part of the exchange, says he only found out on the way to the airport that there was a prisoner exchange. “Nothing was said,” said the 19-year-old, who speaks German and Russian, in Bonn. Before that, all of the people taking part in the exchange had been taken to a prison in Moscow, he said.
Lick said he was sent to a Russian penal camp when he was 17. He was in solitary confinement and was accused of espionage. When he met Scholz at Cologne/Bonn airport, he told the politician that he was very grateful to him for getting him out. His mother was still in Russia and he hoped to see her soon.
He said of his plans: “I had no opportunity to finish school and I definitely want to get my high school diploma.” When he was arrested, he was in the tenth grade. “I am very motivated to finish school. He grew up in Montabaur and came to Russia when he was twelve. He also wants to study.
The Foreign Office said that after the prisoner exchange, a “low double-digit number of people” who also have German citizenship are still imprisoned in Russia. In Belarus, “a single-digit number of Germans” are in prison.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
