26 persons are listed in the prisoner exchange lists between Russia, the USA, Germany and three other countries. Among them is Volodymyr Kara-Murza, an opposition leader arrested by the Russian regime.
Points of attention
- The prisoner exchange between the USA and Russia included 26 individuals, among them was the opposition leader Kara-Murza who was poisoned with heavy metals in 2015.
- The exchange agreement was coordinated by prominent US government agencies, signaling a diplomatic effort to resolve international conflicts.
- A French examination revealed significant concentrations of heavy metals in Kara-Murza's body, indicating a deliberate poisoning attempt orchestrated by Russian authorities.
- Many countries, including Australia and the USA, have imposed sanctions against Russian officials involved in the imprisonment and poisoning of Volodymyr Kara-Murza, showing international condemnation of such actions.
- Volodymyr Kara-Murza's imprisonment and sentencing in Russia highlight the ongoing challenges faced by opposition figures in the country, with accusations of treason and connections with 'undesirable' organizations.
Russian opposition prisoner Kara-Murza will be exchanged
Volodymyr Kara-Murza, a Russian oppositionist and columnist for The Washington Post, who has British-Russian citizenship and is the owner of a green card, should arrive in the USA.
The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Hershkovich, Marine Corps veteran Paul Whelan and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva will return to their homeland as part of the agreement.
At least 12 political prisoners held in Russia are expected to be handed over to Germany as part of the deal announced on August 1. Russia, on the other hand, will receive eight people, most of whom are suspects or convicted because of ties to Russian intelligence.
Among the Russian citizens to be exchanged is Vadim Krasikov, an assassin serving a life sentence in Germany for the killing of a Chechen field commander, commissioned by the Russian federal authorities.
The exchange agreement was coordinated by a number of US government agencies, including the White House, the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency, writes CBS News.
Attempted murder and poisoning of Kara-Murza with heavy metals
Volodymyr Kara-Murza was hospitalized in serious condition on May 26, 2015. He was taken to the intensive care unit with a diagnosis of acute renal failure. Later, he underwent a rehabilitation course abroad.
Kara-Murza is sure that he was poisoned, and the poisoning was not of a domestic nature. According to Kara-Murza, a "complex substance" was used against him, to which only people from the special services can get access.
According to the results of the examination, the concentration of heavy metals was exceeded in the body of Volodymyr Kara-Murza after a sharp deterioration in his health in May 2015.
The study was conducted on May 30 in a laboratory located in Oberosberghan in the French department of Lower Rhine.
According to a paper by French expert Pascal Kintz, analysis of blood, nail, urine, and hair samples taken three days after the opposition politician's health deteriorated sharply in May 2015 showed that they had greatly exceeded the concentration of black heavy metals: manganese, copper, zinc and mercury.
The main conclusion was that the concentration of four heavy metals was significantly exceeded in the studied samples:
manganese — 59.5 times (33.9 nanograms per milligram was found in hair samples),
copper — 1.8 times (112 nanograms per milligram),
zinc — 2.25 times (473 nanograms per milligram),
mercury — 1.2 times (2.01 nanograms per milligram).
At the same time, iron in Kara-Murza's body was found to be 19 times less than the minimum permissible level (0.68 nanograms per milligram).
In March 2023, the US Treasury introduced sanctions against Russian officials involved in the imprisonment of oppositionist Volodymyr Kara-Murza.
On December 7, 2023, Australia imposed sanctions against 13 Russian citizens involved in the poisoning of opposition politician and journalist Volodymyr Kara-Murza. Restrictions include financial sanctions and a ban on entry to Australia. They were introduced against three agents of the Federal Security Service involved in the poisoning of an oppositionist in 2015 and 2017, as well as against 10 people, including the deputy minister of the Russian Federation, who are connected to the politically motivated arrest, trial and sentence of Kara-Murzi.
Volodymyr Kara-Murza: what he is known for
The Moscow City Court sentenced the Russian oppositionist and journalist Volodymyr Kara-Murza to 25 years in a penal colony under three articles of the Criminal Code.
The politician and journalist has been in a Russian pre-trial detention center since April 2022 on charges of "military fakes", treason and connections with "undesirable" organizations.
The opposition denies all accusations.
The 25-year sentence was the maximum term requested by the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation for Kara-Murza. It is also the longest term any Russian opposition figure has received.
I know that the day will come when the darkness that has engulfed our country will be lifted. Our society will open its eyes and shudder when it realizes what crimes have been committed in its name.
Volodymyr Kara-Murza
Russian oppositionist, political prisoner
Volodymyr Kara-Murza was also fined 400,000 rubles ($4,900) and banned from working in journalism for seven years.
His comrades called it the revenge of the Russian authorities for the "Magnitsky list". It is noteworthy that Kara-Murza was charged with treason for his public speeches in the USA and Europe: he spoke about "state terror" for political reasons, about falsifications in elections, violations of human rights in Russia, and called it an aggressor country in the war with Ukraine. With this, according to the investigation, he "created threats to the external security and territorial integrity" of Russia.
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