The fate of several jailed Russian dissidents is currently unknown following their abrupt disappearance from view in recent days; which could indicate that a long-attempted prisoner swap with the West may be close.
Among them is Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian journalist and historian with British citizenship, who in 2023 was sentenced to 25 years in prison for alleged high treason.
The authorities of penal colony No. 6 in Omsk where Kara-Murza had been serving his sentence have twice denied his lawyer access to see him – on July 30 and 31 – claiming that Kara-Mura was undergoing a medical examination, the Russian independent Meduza portal reported.
The issue of whether an exchange is looming has not been confirmed by the Kremlin, but Kara-Murza is at least the eighth Russian jailed dissident to vanish from sight in three days.
In a further indication of a potential trade, attorney Olga Karlova, who is representing Paul Whelan serving a 16 year-sentence in Russia on charges of espionage which he denies, stated she was unable to verify his location as well.
Other dissidents that are believed to have been transported elsewhere are opposition lawmaker Ilya Yashin, human rights activist Oleg Orlov, and Daniil Krinari who was found guilty of covertly collaborating with foreign governments, German-Russian citizen Kevin Lik who was found guilty of treason, opposition activists Liliya Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeeva, as well as an anti-war artist Sasha Skochilenko.
Among the individuals recently sentenced in Russia, whom the West consider political prisoners, are U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
So far, the biggest prisoner swap between the West and Russia since the Cold War took place in 2010, and involved 14 people in total.
In one particularly prominent case, U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, sentenced to nine years for entering Russia carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, was traded in December 2022 for arms dealer Viktor Bout, serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.
The authorities of penal colony No. 6 in Omsk where Kara-Murza had been serving his sentence have twice denied his lawyer access to see him – on July 30 and 31 – claiming that Kara-Mura was undergoing a medical examination, the Russian independent Meduza portal reported.
The issue of whether an exchange is looming has not been confirmed by the Kremlin, but Kara-Murza is at least the eighth Russian jailed dissident to vanish from sight in three days.
In a further indication of a potential trade, attorney Olga Karlova, who is representing Paul Whelan serving a 16 year-sentence in Russia on charges of espionage which he denies, stated she was unable to verify his location as well.
Other dissidents that are believed to have been transported elsewhere are opposition lawmaker Ilya Yashin, human rights activist Oleg Orlov, and Daniil Krinari who was found guilty of covertly collaborating with foreign governments, German-Russian citizen Kevin Lik who was found guilty of treason, opposition activists Liliya Chanysheva and Ksenia Fadeeva, as well as an anti-war artist Sasha Skochilenko.
Among the individuals recently sentenced in Russia, whom the West consider political prisoners, are U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American journalist for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
So far, the biggest prisoner swap between the West and Russia since the Cold War took place in 2010, and involved 14 people in total.
In one particularly prominent case, U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, sentenced to nine years for entering Russia carrying vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, was traded in December 2022 for arms dealer Viktor Bout, serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S.
Source: Reuters, WSJ
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