Updated on 06/08/2022 at 14:07
- The US is negotiating a prisoner exchange with Russia. While the Americans primarily want to get the basketball player Brittney Griner and the ex-soldier Paul Whelan released, the Kremlin is demanding the Tiergarten murderer Vadim Krasikov and the arms dealer Viktor Bout.
- Here diplomat Hans-Jakob Schindler explains why the call for the Tiergarten killer is as absurd as it is questionable, what purpose the public debate regarding a possible prisoner exchange serves, and why Europeans and Americans traveling to Russia should be extremely cautious.
After the conviction of the US basketball player Griner, the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov has discussed a possible prisoner exchange with the USA implied. Why is Griner the focus?
Hans-Jakob Schindler: The Kremlin has increasingly followed in the footsteps of North Korea and Iran: it literally takes state hostages in order to achieve foreign policy goals. People who attract public attention are particularly suitable. The best same-sex basketball player in the world – a superstar – fits the bill.
So-called vape cartridges and hashish oil were found on the athlete during a baggage check at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. It is said to have been 0.5 grams. From the Kremlin’s point of view, illegal drug possession and attempted smuggling. Overdrawn?
Yes you was sentenced to nine years imprisonment for being void. Medical marijuana is in Russia forbidden, but the length of detention is extremely absurd. Griner seems to have forgotten to take it out of his pocket – following all, medicinal hash products are legal in the US.
In addition to Griner, the Americans also want to get ex-soldier Paul Whelan released, whom the Russians accuse of espionage. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Russia. But why isn’t the American Mark Fogel, for example, who was also arrested for possession of medical marijuana, on the US list for a possible prisoner swap?
We don’t know for sure. Moscow and Washington are only at the beginning of negotiations. I assume that the American government is trying to get all of its citizens released when the ratio between misdemeanor and length of imprisonment is so extreme. One gets the impression that this disparity has a political background.
According to several US media outlets, Griner and Whelan might be swapped out for Viktor Bout, a Russian imprisoned in the US. What do you need to know regarding him?
Bout is an arms dealer and falls into a completely different category. He’s a really heavy chunk and it’s not for nothing that he’s nicknamed the “Dealer of Death”. For several years, Bout has supplied arms to almost every African dictator, regardless of embargoes. He broke thousands of international laws and was ultimately arrested in Thailand. The FBI pretended to buy guns themselves. Bout is responsible for many deaths worldwide.
Apparently, Russia has also demanded the extradition of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian convicted of the Tiergarten murder in Germany. What kind of situation is Russia putting Germany in? Krasikov was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and illegal possession of a firearm.
Even if the federal government it wanted: She cannot order that the Tiergarten killer be released. There is a separation of powers here. The Tiergarten murderer should therefore only drive up the price for the two captured Americans. After all, the US government cannot deliver: it has no control over the German government, which in turn cannot intervene in ongoing court proceedings or reverse court decisions. It’s a gambit to demand absurd, undeliverable things.
So what exactly are the Russians doing with it?
The negotiating move is intended to make things more difficult for the Americans and increase their concessions. Perhaps the Russians also want to see financial sanctions lifted.
How useful is it to debate all this publicly?
Usually there is no other way. Discreet talks rarely achieve anything, you need public pressure. This also means publicly embarrassing the other side to a certain extent. Otherwise the cases will not progress. For states like Russia, the lives of their captive citizens are ultimately secondary, but Western states are under pressure to do something for their citizens.
What do you think might come out of the negotiations?
One thing is certain: the Tiergarten murderer will not be released. Chancellor Olaf Scholz cannot decide that the court judgment should be overturned. The man has been proven to be convicted of murder, the federal government simply has no leeway here. That is the principle of the separation of powers, even if it looks different in Russia itself. It is a worrying signal that the Russians have signaled that they want the Tiergarten killer.
How so?
It shows that we must continue to expect such extortionate behavior from Russia during the crisis. Not only Americans have to be more careful, it can also affect German citizens when they enter Russia. Germans should be careful, for example when they want to visit relatives in Russia. They might be severely sentenced for petty crimes just so the Kremlin can extort its own citizens.
About the expert:
Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler is Senior Director at the “Counter Extremism Project” (CEP) and heads the office in Berlin. He is a member of the advisory board of the Global Diplomatic Initiative in London, an independent director on the board of directors of “Compliance and Capacity Skills International” (CCSI) New York and an adjunct lecturer at the Academy for Security in Business. In the past he was a member and coordinator of the United Nations Security Council’s ISIL, Al-Qaeda and Taliban Monitoring Team.
Updated on 08/05/2022 at 10:38 am
A Russian court has sentenced the US basketball player to nine years in prison for drug smuggling. The dismay in the USA is great, Griner’s teammates are appalled.