https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/august-1-2024
"“This is a very good afternoon,” President Joe Biden said today. “[A] very
good afternoon.”
“Today, we’re bringing home Paul, Evan, Alsu, and Vladimir—three American
citizens and one American green-card holder.
“All four have been imprisoned unjustly in Russia…. Russian authorities
arrested them, convicted them in show trials, and sentenced them to long prison
terms with absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever. None.”
In a complicated prisoner swap involving the U.S., Russia, and at least seven
other countries, Americans Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, and Alsu Kurmasheva
and British-Russian activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who openly opposed the
invasion of Ukraine, came home from Russia. Four German citizens who had also
been wrongfully detained—meaning they had not broken laws but were being held
as political bargaining chips—were also part of the exchange, along with a
fifth who was released from Belarus.
Also in the swap were seven Russian citizens who had been detained as political
prisoners, four of whom worked with Alexei Navalny, the political opposition
leader who died in February in a Russian prison. They have left Russia and will
make their way to other countries. It is extraordinary that the U.S. government
managed to force Putin to release his own citizens, and Biden called it out.
“It says a lot about the United States that we work relentlessly to free
Americans who are unjustly held around the world,” he said. “It also says a lot
about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners.
They stood up for democracy and human rights. Their own leaders threw them in
prison. The United States helped secure their release as well. That’s who we
are in the United States.
“We stand for freedom, for liberty, for justice—not only for our own people but
for others as well. And that’s why all Americans can take pride in what we’ve
achieved today.”
In exchange, Russian president Vladimir Putin got the prisoner he wanted most,
hit man Vadim Krasikov, back from Germany. In addition, the U.S. released three
Russians, Slovenia released two, and Norway and Poland each released one. All
told, eight Russians went home.
Foreign affairs journalist Anne Applebaum noted that “a group of brave
journalists and democracy activists are being exchanged for a group of brutal
spies.” The exchange included no money or sanctions relief."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
