America and Russia Deal (symbolic picture)
Washington: The US and Russia completed their largest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovich, Michigan corporate security executive Paul Whelan and Vladimir Kara-Murza, among others. Officials gave information about this. They said that under this agreement, about two dozen people imprisoned in each other’s jails will be freed.
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Relations between Washington and Moscow had reached an all-time low amid the Russia-Ukraine war, but despite this, secret backdoor meetings continued to take place to exchange prisoners. This agreement is the result of talks between Russia and the US for the exchange of prisoners over the past two years.
America had to pay a big price
The US has had to pay a heavy price for the release of its citizens. Russia has ensured the release of its citizens convicted of serious crimes in the West in exchange for freeing journalists, dissidents and other Western prisoners. Under this agreement, Russia released Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, who was arrested in 2023 and convicted in July on charges of espionage. Apart from this, Michigan corporate security executive Whelan has also been released, who was in jail since 2018 on charges of espionage.
Also know this
Also released under the deal was Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsou Kurmasheva, who holds dual U.S.-Russian citizenship and was convicted in July of spreading misinformation about the Russian military. The freed dissidents include Kremlin critic and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kara-Murza, who is serving a 25-year sentence for treason. Also released are 11 Russian political prisoners, including an ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a German citizen arrested in Belarus. (AP)
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