Whereabouts of detained US soldier unknown
According to activists, at least seven political prisoners have been transferred in Russia. Speculations about a prisoner exchange with the US are circulating. Now, the lawyer of the US soldier Paul Whelan, who is imprisoned in Russia, says she has to check his whereabouts.
Amidst speculations about an upcoming prisoner exchange, the lawyer of the former US soldier Paul Whelan, who is imprisoned in Russia, is checking his whereabouts. As Russian media reported, the lawyer tried to find out where the man, who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage, is currently located.
A lawyer for the imprisoned Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Mursa said that the local lawyer had been denied a visit to his client for the second day in a row.
"I've received inquiries from journalists asking where Paul (Whelan) is," lawyer Olga Karlova told the Russian agency Interfax. She sent a request to the administration of his penal colony, but did not receive a response.
The 54-year-old former US soldier Whelan, who also holds British, Irish, and Canadian citizenship, has been in Russian custody since December 2018. Whelan denies the espionage charges against him and claims he was set up by an acquaintance.
Talks on exchange of Gershkovich are underway
Vadim Prochorov, a lawyer for Kara-Mursa, wrote on Facebook that a visit by local lawyer Sergei Safronov to the prison hospital was not possible. "The exact whereabouts of the political prisoner are unknown." The Russian-British citizen Kara-Mursa was sentenced to 25 years in prison in April 2023 for the charges of "high treason" and "dissemination of false information" related to the invasion in Ukraine.
In recent days, at least seven political prisoners have been transferred in Russia, according to activists, sparking speculations about a possible upcoming prisoner exchange. Among the transferred prisoners are Russian opposition figures and a German-Russian national convicted of treason.
Washington and Moscow are negotiating a swap for Evan Gershkovich, a US journalist imprisoned in Russia who was recently sentenced to 16 years for espionage. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously hinted that Gershkovich could be released as part of a prisoner exchange, mentioning the desired release of Russian Vadim Krasikov, who is imprisoned in Germany for the so-called Tiergarten murder.
In line with these negotiations, there have been requests for information about the location of Evan Gershkovich, the imprisoned US journalist in Russia. The President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, has expressed his concern over Gershkovich's situation and called for his immediate release.
Despite these calls, the whereabouts of Gershkovich remain unclear, adding to the uncertainty surrounding a potential prisoner exchange between Russia and the US.
