The RFE/RL journalist killed in Russia by a criminal pawn trader: Paul Capus, the American journalist and his family
Alsu was targeted because she is an American journalist who was trying to help a family member in Russia, according to Stephen Capus, the president and CEO of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She did nothing wrong, that she did not deserve the unjust treatment and that she was not separated from her loved ones. The freedom of Alsu and the other RFE/RL journalists is more important than ever. We will not rest until all our unjustly detained journalists are home safe. Journalism isn’t a crime.
In a statement on Thursday, his family said: “Paul was held hostage for 2,043 days. His case was that of an American held by the Russian Federation as part of a scheme to use humans as pawns in order to get concessions. After being wrongly imprisoned in Russia, Paul lost his home. He lost his job. We don’t know how someone can overcome their losses after being a hostage. We are grateful for all the help that Paul received while he was away. We hope you will continue to help him by providing Paul the space and privacy he needs as he rebuilds his life. It is Paul’s story to tell and he will tell it when he is able.”
A man with a friend gave him a thumb drive which he thought contained photos of Russian churches, but was actually state secrets, according to his lawyer. The U.S. government said he was guilty of fabricated charges, though he maintained his innocence.
As part of the prisoner swap, eight Russians will be returning home. Three will be released from U.S. prisons: Vladislav Klyushin, Vadim Konoshchenok and Roman Seleznev.
President Biden said the swap deal was “a feat of diplomacy” and thanked allies who worked with the United States on the deal. He said in a statement that it was vital to have friends in this world who you can trust and depend on.
“Not since the Cold War has there been a similar number of individuals exchanged in this way,” said U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, adding the exchange was the “culmination of many rounds of complex painstaking negotiations over many, many months.”
Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Russian journalist and dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza are both returning to the US from Russia.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed appreciation to the Turkish government for “providing a location for the safe return of these individuals to the United States and Germany.”
The Turkish government said in a statement that it was involved in the most extensive prisoner exchange operation in recent times in Ankara, which involved both Russian dissidents and a German mercenary who was imprisoned in Belarus.
“Russia says it caught James Bond on a spy mission,” Whelan said during a memorable court appearance in 2019. “In reality, they abducted Mr. Bean on holiday.”
Who’s Who in the Prisoner Swap that has Freed Evan Gershkovich from Russian Prison? — An Interview with Kara-Murza
She was also charged with failing to register as a foreign agent. She was sentenced in December to six years in prison after a trial that lasted just two days. Her family, her employer and the U.S. government have all denied the charges against her.
In 2022, he gave an interview to CNN from Moscow in which he called the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin a “regime of murderers.” Within hours, he was under arrest.
He has been outspoken against the policies of the Kremlin, and drew the ire of the Russian Government for calling on Western Governments to sanction Moscow for its human-rights abuses.
A vocal critic of the Kremlin, Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in a Russian Penal Colony after authorities accused him of treason and spreading “fake” information about the Russian military.
Gershkovich, the American-born son of Soviet era emigres in the U.S., and the Wall Street Journal deny allegations against him. So too has the U.S. government, which designated Gershkovich as wrongfully detained.
Liliya Chanysheva, Kseniya Fadeyeva, Rico Krieger, Kevin Lick, Herman Moyzhes, Oleg Orlov, Vadim Ostanin, Andrey Pivovarov, Patrick Schoebel, Sasha Skochilenko, Dieter Voronin and Ilya Yashin.
Source: Who’s who in the prisoner swap that has freed Evan Gershkovich from Russian prison
The release of Klyushin, a suspected Russian intelligence operative, after he was released from the U.S. Treasury Department
Some women and men have been held without charges for years. All have gone through unimaginable hardship and uncertainty,” President Biden said in a statement. “This is a powerful example of why it’s vital to have friends in this world whom you can trust and depend upon.”
Klyushin was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2023 for what the Justice Department called “an elaborate hack-to-trade” scheme that netted the Russian businessman $93 million in ill-gotten gains. The DOJ said Klyushin made those profits off of trades that were based on confidential corporate intel stolen from U.S. computer networks.
Konoshchenok, a suspected Russian intelligence operative, was extradited to the U.S. from Estonia last year to face charges stemming from an alleged procurement and money laundering scheme. The Justice Department said he was “a critical participant in a scheme to provide sensitive, American-made electronics and ammunition in furtherance of Russia’s war efforts and weapons development.”
The Russian convicted for running a vast credit-card and identity-theft operation was sentenced to 27 years in prison. He stole and resold more than two million credit card numbers, which caused losses of at least $170 million and may have been in the billions. His victims included more than 4,000 financial institutions and businesses around the world.
In addition to those being released from American prisons, five others will be released from Germany, Norway, Poland and Slovenia. The German government agreed to release the suspected Russian assassin, who was serving a life sentence in Berlin for the murder of a Georgia citizen.
Norway is releasing Mikhail Valeryevich Mikushin; Poland will free Pavel Alekseyevich Rubtsov; and Slovenian authorities will let go Anna Valerevna Dultseva and Artem Viktorovich Dultsev.