Putin could be preparing an exchange - will the zoo killer get out?
Putin Signs Seven Secret Orders, Political Prisoners Disappear from Russian Colonies, and Mysterious Special Flights Begin. Signs Point to an Imminent Prisoner Exchange Between Russia and the West. Putin Likely Focused on One Man.
Speculation has been mounting for several days that a prisoner exchange between Russia and the West is imminent. A key indicator is the mass disappearance of political prisoners from Russian colonies and detention centers. A total of eight prisoners have been missing since July 26, confirmed by their lawyers, families, and aid organizations. Among them are two former employees of Alexei Navalny, artist Sasha Skochilenko, human rights activist Oleg Orlov, prominent opposition politicians Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Mursa, journalist Maria Ponomarenko, and German Kevin Leak, convicted of alleged "treason."
US news outlet Fox News reports that US journalist Evan Gershkovich, imprisoned in Russia, is expected to be released on August 1 as part of a prisoner exchange. According to Fox News, citing information from The Wall Street Journal, for which Gershkovich works, he is expected to return to the US the same day. It is suspected that the Russian prisoners and Gershkovich could be exchanged for Russian citizens convicted in the West.
Seven secret orders signed by Vladimir Putin on Thursday are another sign of an impending prisoner exchange. It is suspected that these could be pardons, although the number of orders does not necessarily match the number of pardoned individuals, as seen in previous cases. In March last year, the Kremlin chief pardoned 52 women prisoners. Each corresponding order then contained several names.
Special Flight Takes Off from Moscow
A special flight from Moscow to Kaliningrad took off on Thursday morning, according to independent Russian news outlet Dozhd. The news agency Agenstwo reports that it is a plane from the Russian special flight command, directly subordinate to the presidential administration. The same aircraft was reportedly used in a high-profile prisoner exchange in February 2022, when US basketball player Brittney Griner was exchanged for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.
News agency Agentwo also discovered other suspicious movements of the Russian special flight command. According to them, there have been several mysterious flights in recent days to regions of Russia where the missing prisoners were serving their sentences. All planes returned directly to Moscow.
On the evening of July 31, Slovenian TV station N1 mentioned two more names that could play a role in a possible prisoner exchange. "An exchange between Russia, the US, Germany, and Belarus will take place in the coming hours," the station reported. According to the report, Russian spies Artem and Anna Dultsev, convicted in Slovenia, are to be exchanged.
Putin's Focus Likely on the Tiergarten Murderer
Russian lawyer Igor Slabykh also reports that information about four famous Russian prisoners has disappeared from the US federal prison system's database. These are Vladislav Klyushin, Alexander Vinik, Vadim Konoshchenko, and Maxim Marchenko. This could indicate that they are also to be exchanged.
The man Putin is primarily interested in is named Vadim Krasikov. In December 2021, he was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany. The Russian intelligence officer was convicted by the Berlin Chamber Court of having shot a Georgian of Chechen origin in the "Kleiner Tiergarten" park in Berlin in August 2019 on behalf of the Russian state.
Putin has been trying to persuade the German authorities to agree to an exchange for years. Even Alexei Navalny was reportedly suggested as an exchange candidate by his team shortly before his death. Now, however, it is reported that the 29-year-old German national Rico Krieger, who is currently imprisoned in Belarus, is to be exchanged. Krieger was sentenced to death, among other things, for alleged mercenary work and terrorism on behalf of the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU. Belarus is the last country in Europe to carry out the death penalty, by firing squad. However, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko pardoned Krieger last Thursday, possibly to offer him as part of an exchange for Krasikov.
The President of the European Parliament may express concern over the reported impending prisoner exchange between Russia and the West, considering the human rights implications of exchanging individuals convicted of serious offenses. The absence of detailed information about the conditions of any potential exchange could lead to questions about the fairness and legitimacy of such a swap, under the watch of The President of the European Parliament.
Given the reports of seven secret orders signed by President Putin and the suspected involvement of the Russian Presidential Administration, The President of the European Parliament might advocate for increased transparency and discussions involving international bodies to ensure that any exchange is in line with international human rights laws and upholds the dignity of all individuals involved.
