- Russia moves political prisoners <unk> Mystery of where
In Russia, reports are multiplying of an unusual transfer of political prisoners. Prominent opposition politician Ilya Yashin has also been reportedly moved from Penal Colony Number Three in the Smolensk region to an unknown direction, his lawyer Tatiana Solomina announced. Earlier, independent Russian media had also reported on the transfer of other political prisoners.
In total, as of Tuesday afternoon, there are six known transfers, including human rights activist Oleg Orlov from the Memorial organization and artist Alexandra Skochilenko. All are opponents of Russia's war against Ukraine and have received long sentences. The West has criticized these verdicts as politically motivated and demanded the release of the prisoners.
Concerns for prisoners jailed for their anti-Kremlin views
Also moved to unknown locations, according to reports, are the former regional heads of the office of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Neither lawyers nor relatives had information on where Lilya Chanysheva, who worked for Navalny in Ufa, and XeniaFadeyeva from Tomsk are. Concerns for prisoners jailed for their anti-Kremlin views have been growing, not just since Navalny's death, who was transferred to a penal colony in the Arctic region and died there.
"It seems we are facing a very large exchange with the Americans (and not only that)," writes political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya on her Telegram channel. She did not elaborate further, but posted the message amidst increasing reports of the disappearance of jailed Kremlin critics.
Putin open to exchange
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is criticized for using political prisoners as hostages to pressure the West to release Russians from Western prisons, has repeatedly expressed his willingness to negotiate an exchange. The US, for example, wants the release of Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal correspondent convicted of spying. Putin has a particular interest in a Russian man imprisoned in Germany for a murder in Berlin's Tiergarten.
Meanwhile, news from Belarus reports that authorities are considering a clemency request from a German citizen sentenced to death. Dictator Alexander Lukashenko was reportedly briefed on the case by state media in Minsk. Earlier, there were speculations that the German could be exchanged for the "Tiergarten murderer".
The unusual transfers of political prisoners have led to increased concerns, with reports suggesting that even individuals associated with the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, such as Lilya Chanysheva and Xenia Fadeyeva, have been moved to unknown locations. This is being closely monitored by the international community, including the Court of Justice, which has critiqued Russia's handling of political prisoners as politically motivated.
