RUSSIA-USA/PRISONERS-GERMANY (UPDATE 1): Germany says releasing a Russian killer was a “not easy decision.”
BERLIN – In a prisoner exchange between Moscow and the West, Vadim Krasikov, a Russian convicted of the 2019 murder of a former Chechen militant in Berlin, was freed from prison on Thursday, according to the German authorities.
According to a statement from the German government, Krasikov was one of the Russians freed by the West in return for 15 individuals detained “unjustly” in Russia and a German who had received a death sentence in Belarus.
Among those freed from Russia was Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich from the United States.
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin made hints that he might free Gershkovich in return for Krasikov, using the phrase “due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals” in an interview.
But considering the savagery of the murder, which was carried out in broad daylight just a short stroll from parliament and Angela Merkel’s office at the time, such a trade proved difficult for Germany.
“Our obligation to protect German nationals and our solidarity with the USA were important motivations,” stated the administration.
On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden said that Germany had to give up a lot in order to complete the prisoner swap.
Ten inmates, including two kids, had been transferred to Russia, thirteen to Germany, and three to the United States, according to Turkey, which oversaw the exchange.
The number of German citizens freed in the exchange was not confirmed by the German authorities.
An indication of the upcoming exchange, close Putin friend Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, pardoned German Rico Krieger on Tuesday who was given a death sentence in Belarus due to allegations of terrorism.
