Released Russian opposition figures say that no one asks for their consent regarding exchange
Released Russian opposition figures (photo: x.com/tvrain)
Released from Russian prisons, opposition figures Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin stated that no one asked them whether they agreed to the exchange. They even refused to fulfill the formal condition for the exchange - asking Russian President Vladimir Putin for a pardon, according to a statement from Kara-Murza and Yashin.
The mentioned opposition figures, along with their colleague Andrei Pivovarov, made their first statements at a press conference in Bonn, Germany, on Friday.
"I’m not viewing what happened to me ... as an exchange. I’m viewing it as an expulsion from Russia, an illegal expulsion from Russia against my will. And I’ll say frankly, as it is: The thing I want the most right now is to go home," said Yashin.
Both Yashin and Kara-Murza told reporters that no one asked them if they agreed to the exchange, and they refused to ask Putin for a pardon - a formality they said was insisted upon by prison officials.
At the same time, Kara-Murza emphasized that such prisoner exchanges are essentially saving human lives, pointing out that the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic colony in February underscores this in a very horrifying way.
On August 1, Western countries conducted a prisoner exchange with Russia. Moscow released convicted journalists, and US and German citizens, as well as imprisoned Russian opposition figures.
The West handed over Russian spies, undercover FSB agents, and assassins to Moscow. Notably, Germany extradited Vadim Krasikov to Russia, who was sentenced to life imprisonment there for the 2019 murder of former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili.
Negotiations on the exchange lasted over two years, including discussions about the release of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Following the exchange, Kara-Murza expressed his disagreement with Western sanctions against Russia. He believes they should be directed at Putin's regime rather than at the citizens of Russia.
