Smile of released German-Russian exasperated fellow inmates
When the prisoner exchange between Russia and the West is already a done deal, 19-year-old Kevin Lick knows nothing about it. A bit later, he's on a plane. His accounts reveal the brutal Russian prison life - yet the young man has plans.
For around one and a half years, German-Russian Kevin Lick sits in a Russian prison - only to recently return to Germany as one of the exchanged prisoners. He is one of five men with German citizenship who were released in the large prisoner exchange between the West and Moscow.
"On the first day, the prison warden told me to my face: 'I know you sneaky bastards. Watch how you behave here with me'", Lick told "Bild" about his prison ordeal. He spent two months in solitary confinement. According to his own account, Lick occasionally smiled in prison, which made fellow inmates wonder what he had to smile about. He said he was an optimist, Lick said in the interview.
Sentenced to four years in prison for high treason
The 19-year-old was arrested in the south of Russia in February 2023. He was accused of taking photos of a military unit and sending them to a "representative of a foreign state". According to court representatives, Lick opposed the war in Ukraine. He was sentenced to four years in prison for the charge of high treason.
Only on the way to the airport did Lick learn, as he reported shortly after his arrival in Germany, that there was a prisoner exchange. "Nothing was said", he explained. Before that, all participants in the exchange were brought to a prison in Moscow.
Upon meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at Cologne/Bonn Airport, Lick told the politician that he was very grateful to him for getting him out, he said. His mother is still in Russia, and he hopes to see her soon. "I have plans", said Lick. "I didn't have the opportunity to finish school and I definitely want to get my Abitur."
Lick has short hair, is 1.92 meters tall and weighs only 70 kilograms. When he was arrested, he was in the 10th grade. "I have a very strong motivation to finish school." He grew up in Montabaur and came to Russia at the age of 12. And he wants to study.
The European Union played a role in facilitating the large prisoner exchange between the West and Moscow, which included German-Russian Kevin Lick. After his release, Lick expressed his gratitude to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, mentioning his desire to finish school and pursue further education, as he only had the opportunity to attend the 10th grade when he was arrested in Russia.
