International Russia wants to release more prisoners from the USA
According to its ambassador to the USA, Anatoly Antonov, Russia wants to release more prisoners. "There are still dozens of Russians in American prisons who are looking hopefully to their fatherland and waiting for their hour of release".
02.08.2024, 11:37
SDA
Antonov announced this on Telegram. They had ended up behind bars as a result of the international "hunt" for Russians by the US secret services. "We will make maximum efforts to continue the liberation and alleviate the plight of all compatriots who are in the clutches of local justice."
There are still many political prisoners in Russian prison camps who are hoping to be released. Following the unprecedented prisoner exchange on Thursday, observers fear that Russia could continue to arrest Western citizens in order to use them as hostages and free compatriots imprisoned abroad.
Russia pays tribute to released criminals
Antonov congratulated the Russians released in the USA: Roman Zelesnyov, a computer hacker sentenced to 27 years in prison; Vladislav Klyushin, an IT entrepreneur who had been sentenced to nine years in prison for cyber fraud in the USA; the not yet convicted suspected secret service agent Vadim Konoshchyonok, who allegedly smuggled technology that could also be used for military purposes while circumventing sanctions.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin received the released Russians, including the "zoo murderer" Vadim Krassikov from Germany and a couple from Slovenia convicted of espionage, at Moscow airport on Thursday evening with a red carpet and presidential guard. Putin, who was accompanied by Defense Minister Andrei Beloussov, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov and foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin, praised the steadfastness of the criminals convicted in the West and announced awards and a new "use" for them.
