August 1, Pozirk. Rico Krieger, a German national sentenced to death in Belarus and pardoned by Alaksandar Łukašenka last month, has been released in a major prisoner swap between Russia, the United States, Germany and Belarus, The Insider reported.
The White House confirmed that the exchange had begun.
According to The Insider, two US nationals, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US Marine veteran Paul Whelan, were released from Russian prisons. They had been sentenced to 16 years behind bars.
In addition, Russia is expected to free several prisoners whose persecution was widely regarded as politically motivated, including Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin and Andrey Pivovarov.
In return, it will receive Russians imprisoned in the USA and the European Union, including Vadim Krasikov, a Russian with links to the Federal Security Service serving a life sentence in Germany for an assassination.
Turkey’s NTV broadcast footage of a Russian plane landing in Ankara. Local journalists said live that the exchange involved 26 people.
