East-West prisoner swap: Kremlin says Vadim Krasikov, freed by Germany, is FSB operative
File photo.
The Kremlin on Friday (Aug 2) said that Vadim Krasikov, freed by Germany inThursday's prisoner swap deal with the West, is an operative with Russia's FSB security service. Addressing a press conference,Kremlin spokespersonDmitry Peskov said, "Krasikov is an FSB employee." Peskov added that Krasikov served with FSB's eliteand secretive Alpha unit.
Krasikov "served with some of the people working in the president's security detail," Peskov further told reporters. According to a report by the news agency AFP, an investigation by investigative journalism groupBellingcat revealed thatKrasikov had links to the FSB.
However, Friday's admission (by the Kremlin) was the first time Moscow has publicly confirmed he was an FSB agent.
A life sentence in Germany
Krasikov was serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of a Chechen rebel commander in a Berlin park in 2019 — an assassination that German judges said was ordered by the Russian state.
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The rebel commander was identified asZelimkhan Khangoshvili, who hadtaken up arms against the Russian state in the early 1990s but since forsworn the armed Chechen independence struggle.
On Thursday (Aug 1), Krasikovand nine other Russians werefreed in the historic prisoner exchange that saw Moscow release Americancitizens includingEvan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, and Alsu Kurmasheva, along with a host of Russian dissidents and activists.
Russian President Vladimir Putinhailed the return of the Russian prisoners by saying the motherland never forgot about them.
Germany played a key rolein Thursday's prisoner swap between Moscow and the West.
Relatives of Krasikov's victimslam his release
Relatives ofKhangoshvilivoiced disappointmentin Krasikov's release from prison. In a statement released by their lawyer, the Chechen rebel commander's relatives said, "On one hand we are glad that lives have been saved.But we are very disappointed that there are apparently no laws even in countries that put the rule of law on a pedestal."
Also watch |26 prisoners released in landmark exchange at Ankara airport
Earlier, GermanChancellor Olaf Scholz said the decision had been difficult but necessary to save lives, a view echoed by Justice Minister Marco Buschman.
(With inputs from agencies)