Russia proposes US prisoner exchange | Currently World | '
Russia wants to retrieve the arrested since 2010 in the US pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, according to the agency Interfax. In return, Moscow is ready to hand over a US citizen to Washington. Russia offered different variants of an exchange.
Whether it was the American citizen who could be exchanged for Paul Whelan, as was speculated promptly, is unclear. On the specific case of Whelan, who was under suspicion of espionage, Ryabkov said that a verdict had to be made here. Yaroshenko should not have to wait so long.
Smuggling, espionage and a long fight
The Russian pilot was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the US in 2011 for attempted drug smuggling. He was arrested in West Africa in 2010 while attempting to smuggle tons of cocaine. The circumstances of the arrest in Liberia had led to diplomatic irritation. Russia criticized the extradition of his citizen to the United States as a violation of international law. Yaroshenko has been complaining for years that his state of health in US custody is increasingly deteriorating.
Konstantin Jaroschenko's mother and wife have been fighting for his release for years (Archive image from August 2016)
The alleged US spy Whelan was arrested at his Moscow hotel room at the end of December. He should have been caught after the presentation of the domestic intelligence service FSB as a spy in the act. He had therefore secret data on a USB stick with him. Whelan, who denies the allegations, had traveled privately to Moscow, according to his family, to attend a friend's wedding.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years imprisonment. The former US Marine also complains about bad prison conditions. The US embassy in Moscow tweeted that Whelan's health had deteriorated. The Russian authorities rejected the request for a visit from a doctor.
Shortly after Whelan's arrest, there was initial speculation that the only reason for the detention of the 48-year-old was that Russia wanted to have a pawn for a possible prisoner exchange.
Whelan owns US, British, Irish and Canadian nationality.
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