Two of the captives released in Thursday's joint prisoner swap between Russia and the United States told reporters on Friday that they have refused to sign a petition for mercy to be given to Russian President Vladmir Putin, according to the BBC.
On Thursday, Russia and the United States announced the largest prisoner exchange in the modern era when Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, American Paul Whelan, and a number of Russia dissidents were released in exchange for eight Russian detainees.
Former Russian intelligence agent Vadim Krasikov, computer hacker and credit card thief Roman Seleznev, and the husband-and-wife team of sleeper agents Artem and Anna Dultsev were among the prisoners the U.S. and its allies returned to Russia.
Two of the dissidents were Vladimir Kara-Murza and Iiya Yashin, who told reporters during a news conference in Germany that have neither admitted guilt nor given their consent to be removed, vowing to return to Russia eventually. Prison officials had requested the dissidents sign the petition of mercy, which would have forced them to confess to an initial crime.
Yashin told the outlet it was "much more comfortable" for Putin to have an exiled opposition "because the voice of opposition in prison always has much more weight than the voice in emigration."
"I never imagined myself outside Russia," he said.
"I am eternally grateful for their help. But I am a guest here — and my main wish is to return to Russia," he said, adding, "I'm not the only one who demanded not to be sent into exile — but no one asked our opinion."
A third dissident who arrived in Germany, Andrei Pivovarov, told reporters that yesterday's exchange was a "sign of light." But Kara-Murza was cautious, saying the swap was a "drop in the ocean, because so many innocent people who've never committed a crime in their life are being held in torturous conditions."
The freed dissidents also took note that Alexi Navalny, a longtime vocal critic of Putin, was due to be included in the deal but died in prison in February. Yashin added, "The fact that Alexei Navalny is not with us is a crime committed by Putin, who bears direct responsibility for his murder."
Referring to the freed dissidents, the pro-Putin tabloid newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda stated, "They have ditched their former Motherland and flown to those who hired them."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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