The fate of Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, accused of spying in Russia, could be decided in a recently revived tradition of international prisoner exchanges, which resembles Cold War traditions, writing WSJ.
“The main question is what form such an agreement will take and how difficult it will be to agree on it,” the American newspaper said, suggesting that in the near future, when relations between Russia and the United States United are “at an all-time low”. “Due to the Ukrainian conflict, such exchanges will become more frequent.
According to the WSJ, the complexity of the task lies mainly in the selection of candidates for the deal. These people must be “valuable enough for Moscow” and yet Washington is ready to let them go.
“Hostage for exchange”. How Russia and the world reacted to the detention of journalist Gershkovich
The publication admits that Russians serving sentences outside the United States could be used for the exchange, although today such a scheme seems “almost unrealistic”.
PA
However, the idea that the United States cannot strike a deal involving a third country has faded, with a senior White House official saying this week that Washington is open to “creative solutions” to repatriate Gershkowitz and Paul Whelan, who in 2020 was sentenced in Russia to 16 years in prison for espionage. “Within the limits of what is legally available, we are constantly looking for what might be relevant or useful,” the official admitted.
Four nationalities and a VKontakte page. What do we know about Paul Whelan, suspected of spying in Russia?
As an example, the WSJ cites the swapping of Israeli tourist Naama Issahar, who was detained in Russia in 2019 for drug possession, for suspected Russian hacker Alexei Burkov, who was arrested in Israel in 2015 on the request from the United States. As a result, in 2021 Burkov was extradited to the United States and released, and two months later Israeli authorities secured the release of Issachar, who was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin by his decree.
“The identification in recent weeks of alleged Russian spies – at least some of them currently in the custody of Slovenia and Brazil – has prompted some observers to view them as a clear potential guarantee for the exchange,” writes the WSJ.
The American newspaper considers the editor-in-chief of the Lithuanian version of the Sputnik news agency Marat Kasem, detained in Latvia in January 2023, as a possible candidate for the exchange. Kasem is a Latvian citizen, but lived in Russia for several years and returned to his native country at the end of 2022.
Marat Kasem Anton Novoderezhkin / TASS
Similarly, the WSJ assesses Sergei Cherkasov, who was sentenced by a Brazilian court to 15 years in prison for forgery of documents and identity theft. In March 2023, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge tentatively accepted Moscow’s request for Cherkasov’s extradition, but the US Department of Justice is also seeking his extradition.
“In Brazil, ahead of a mid-April visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, there were rumors that he might try to strike a deal there (for the extradition of Cherkasov )”, writes the American newspaper.
The WSJ says there are currently no Russian citizens charged with espionage in US custody, but there are Russians charged or convicted of cybercrime, such as Roman Seleznev, who is described by US prosecutors as “one of the most prolific credit card data thieves”. in history.” He was found guilty of more than $169 billion in cyber fraud and will remain in prison until 2036, according to the verdict.
Alexander Vinnik Giannis Papanikos / AP
Another possible candidate for the exchange, the WSJ names Vladislav Klyushin, who was extradited from Switzerland to the United States in 2021 and convicted of obtaining $90 million through securities transactions based on privileged information allegedly stolen by hacking into computer networks. Klyushin’s verdict is expected in May.
And finally, the WSJ mentions the Russian Alexander Vinnik, who is accused by the US Department of Justice of having organized illegal cryptocurrency exchanges. He has been detained since 2017, first in Greece, then in France, and now in the United States. Vinnik’s lawyers are openly lobbying for him to be included in any prisoner exchange program.
