After months of negotiations, the American basketball player Brittney Griner is back in the United States, after ten months of detention in Russia. She had been arrested in February for transporting a small amount of cannabis oil. Amid extreme tensions between Washington and Moscow, this release was made in exchange for that of Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer.
“It was not up to us to choose which American to bring home. It was a choice between bringing an American or none at all,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, a White House spokeswoman.
In fact, several US citizens are still imprisoned in Russia. Since 2017, Russia has detained at least one US citizen a year, according to a report by the “Bringing our Families Home” campaign. At the same time, the Russians are also being held on American soil. This Friday, Vladimir Putin considered other prisoner exchanges with Washington “possible”.
• Paul Whelan detained for 4 years in Russia
As reported by various US media, including The hill, at least one American has been included in talks to be released along with Brittney Griner. This is Paul Whelan, a former soldier who became director of security for the American automobile supplier BorgWarner.
At 52, he was arrested in 2018 in Moscow on his way to a wedding. Two years later, in 2020, he was sentenced to sixteen years in prison for espionage, a decision he denounced as “political” and “made from scratch.”
In a call with CNN, Paul Whelan welcomed Brittney Griner’s release but said he was “very disappointed” not to be part of the trade. “I don’t understand why I’m still here,” he said. According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Moscow “treats the (Paul Whelan) dossier differently.”
“Despite our tireless efforts, the Russian government has yet to show willingness to end their unjustified detention, which should have ended a long time ago,” he added.
• Marc Fogel detained for 16 months in Russia
Like Brittney Griner, Marc Fogel, 61, is in custody in Russia after he was arrested in possession of a small amount of cannabis in August 2021. He said he used it medically to relieve pain and that he I had tried. bring some of it to Russia, where the substance is illegal.
In fact, Marc Fogel lives in Moscow and has taught history at the Anglo-American School in Moscow, a prestigious school for children of diplomats abroad, for ten years, reports the Washington Post. He was sentenced to fourteen years in a labor camp.
However, the US authorities have never directly referred to the release of Marc Fogel in their statements on the prisoner exchanges with Russia. Furthermore, they never identified the professor as wrongfully detained.
“Teachers are at least as important as basketball players,” lamented Marc Fogel in a letter to his family.
“Sometimes we can’t talk about that particular person… There are reasons for that, for their own safety, for their own privacy,” Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about the issue.
• Roman Seleznyov detained in the United States since 2011
On the other side of the negotiating table, Moscow also demands the release of its fellow citizens imprisoned in the United States. When Vicktor Bout, nicknamed the “merchant of death” by arms smugglers, was returned to Russia, the name of another Russian was mentioned in the negotiations.
This is Roman Seleznyov, whose release has been publicly requested by the Russian government in recent weeks. According to his lawyer, in statements collected by the Reuters news agency, he would be an “ideal candidate” for a possible exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Washington.
Roman Seleznyov, the son of Valery Seleznyov, a member of the lower house of the Russian parliament and an outspoken critic of US politics, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for various cybercrimes, including selling stolen US credit card data.
American investigators discovered Roman Seleznyov’s online activities in the late 2000s and requested Russia’s help. Very quickly, Roman Seleznyov’s online traces disappeared, leading American investigators to believe that Russia was protecting him. The Russian embassy in the United States also recently visited him in prison, proof of its desire to repatriate him.
• The fate of Alexander Vinnik
Russian media reported on Friday the fate of Alexander Vinnik, a Russian computer expert extradited to the United States in August, where he is the subject of 21 charges, including identity theft, complicity in drug trafficking and money laundering.
Alexander Vinnik’s lawyers have forwarded their client’s name to officials in Russia and the United States, saying he is “a good candidate” because “he is of great interest to both parties, and he is also someone who did not kill anyone.” You shall not commit a violent crime.” However, he was cut from Thursday’s deal.
Earlier this year, last April, another exchange took place between Washington and Moscow with former US Marine Trevor Reed, sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for violence, exchanged with Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot imprisoned in the United States for drug trafficking. people. cocaine.
Source: BFM TV
