2024-08-02 02:16:48
Yulia Navalnaya said she was happy for the release of political prisoners as part of a major swap deal between Moscow and the West, AFP reported. The widow of former Kremlin adversary Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February, declared the incident a victory.
“This is a great joy! Every freed political prisoner is a huge victory and joy. No one should be a hostage of Putin, be tortured and die in Putin’s prisons,” she wrote on social networks.
The largest prisoner swap between Russia and the US since the end of the Cold War took place on Thursday. Among those released from Moscow were iconic Americans – journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-marine Paul Wilson. The deal was defined as the legacy of outgoing US President Joe Biden, who managed to bring home a historic number of people, Western media reported.
After days of speculation over whether such a move was expected from the two governments, the deal was announced suddenly and was due to close in full on Thursday.
The agreement involved 24 people from 7 countries. 8 Russian nationals were expected to be returned – some of them suspected of ties to Russian intelligence. Turkey said it played the key role of mediator in the historic deal. According to CNN, the exchange took place at the airport in Ankara.