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https://theconversation.com/the-us-russia-prisoner-swap-shows-how-journalists-risk-being-used-as-geopolitical-bargaining-chips-236052>
"The photo of returning prisoners in an American plane, all grinning from ear
to ear, says it all: the joy, the relief and the success of an incredibly
complicated mission.
The freeing of
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich,
Radio Free
Europe journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, former US Marine Paul Whelan and a host of
others is the biggest prisoner exchange since the end of the Cold War.
In all, 26 people from seven different countries were freed in a mindbogglingly
complex agreement that took years to negotiate. They included 16 imprisoned in
Russia: the three Americans, a host of Russian political prisoners, and a
19-year-old Russian-German national jailed for taking photographs of a Russian
military base.
In return, eight Russians were also released – the most notorious among them,
Vadim Krasikov, a colonel in the Federal Security Service jailed in Germany for
murdering a former Chechen rebel in Berlin in 2019.
Freedom for those unjustly imprisoned is indisputably wonderful news, even if
it is way overdue, and the Biden administration deserves credit for its work in
negotiating the deal. But this case could also set up an international
precedent: journalists can be used as geopolitical bargaining chips."
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
