Russia and the United States are negotiating a new prisoner swap in one of the few active talks between Moscow and Washington amid tensions stemming from Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Both countries said on Friday they were willing to resume negotiations, a day after basketball star Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Three Americans detained in Russia and a Russian serving long sentences in a US prison could take part in this exchange.
Brittney Griner
Griner was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in a Russian penal colony and a fine of one million rubles ($16,590) for drug possession and trafficking.
He was detained at a Moscow airport in February for possession of a cannabis-based vape liquid he said was prescribed by a doctor. The arrest took place a few days after the start of the offensive against Ukraine on February 24.
Considered one of the best in the world, the 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury player was in Russia during the off-season to play for a club in the city of Yekaterinburg.
Paul Whelan
Former US Marine, 52, Paul Whelan was arrested in December 2018 by Russian security services on charges of espionage.
The veteran, security director for an American vehicle parts company, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage in June 2020.
In a closed trial, Whelan insisted on her innocence and claimed that an acquaintance had lured her into a flash drive that she thought contained photos taken during an old trip to Russia.
He did not look at the contents of the USB drive, but his lawyer claimed that it contained “state secrets.”
The American claims to be in Russia to attend a wedding.
Marc Fogel
American Marc Fogel, a professor and former diplomat at an American school in Moscow, was sentenced to 14 years in prison in June for “large-scale” marijuana trafficking in Russia.
Russian officials said they found marijuana and hashish oil in Fogel’s luggage when he arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetievo airport from New York.
Foguel claims that marijuana was prescribed for medicinal purposes after a spine surgery in the United States.
Russia does not recognize the use of the substance for medicinal purposes.
Victor Bout
Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was sentenced to 25 years in prison in the United States in 2012 after being accused of arming rebels in some of the world’s bloodiest conflicts.
The 55-year-old man is considered the highest-ranking Russian prisoner in the United States.
Bout, a former translator and radio operator for the Soviet air force, was detained in Thailand in 2008 during a covert operation in which US agents pretended to be Colombian FARC rebels looking for weapons.
The Russians inspired the 2005 gun smuggling movie starring Nicolas Cage about gun smuggling.
source: Noticias
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