Marta Gichko14:01, 02.08.24

The dictator realized that his strategy was working, so foreigners in Russia are becoming increasingly vulnerable.

Russian ruler Vladimir Putin’s strategy of arresting foreigners on minor, baseless charges has enabled him to free murderers, spies and hackers, demonstrating the imbalance that characterizes such deals.

As The Washington Post reports , Putin secured the release of spies, hackers and his most coveted prisoner in the West, a murderer with ties to the intelligence services convicted in Germany. It was the biggest victory yet for Russia’s authoritarian dictator, one that stems from his willingness to break global norms to get what he wants from Western leaders.

Putin hinted at his determination to free the killer, Vadim Krasikov, in an interview with American Tucker Carlson in February. He called Krasikov a “patriot” without specifying his last name.

In his quarter-century as Russia’s top political leader, Putin has repeatedly demonstrated his disdain for the global rules-based order by invading Georgia and Ukraine, seizing territory by force, carrying out attacks and assassinations on foreign soil, and arresting foreigners in Russia on trumped-up charges. This practice is known as “hostage diplomacy.”

“Thursday’s major prisoner swap underscored the grave imbalance that has become typical of such deals, with Russia winning the release of people convicted of serious crimes while the West focuses on its own citizens jailed on trivial or baseless charges, or even Russian citizens who are victims of political persecution by Putin’s government,” the newspaper writes.

Dismissal of Krasikov

In 2022, US President Joe Biden agreed to swap convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for basketball star Brittney Griner, convicted in Russia of possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil. But even in that context, the Krasnikov deal went overboard.

Krasikov was a member of the FSB’s Vympel special task force, according to investigative website Bellingcat, which first identified him. He was convicted of a brazen attack in a Berlin park in 2019. In broad daylight, he jumped off his bike, pulled out a Glock 26 pistol with a silencer, and shot dead Georgian-born Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a former fighter in the separatist Chechen war. Krasikov fled, but was caught after throwing the gun and wig into the Spree River.

Although Russia has a long list of prisoners in American and European jails, Krasikov was especially important to Putin, who repeatedly publicly defended him, portraying Khangoshvili’s victim as a terrorist who committed atrocities.

Putin shares a code of loyalty to Russian spies and other operatives caught abroad, being a former KGB officer himself. Krasikov’s return home reinforces a powerful promise to the Russian security services that, as far as possible, no one serving his regime will be left alone.

Securing Krasikov’s release during the war makes this an even more personal triumph for Putin.

Krasikov is personally acquainted with Putin. He was at a joint shooting with the dictator, said Ukrainian Alexander Vodorez, whose wife’s sister married the killer. According to the man, Krasikov was an FSB officer in the Vympel group, which took part in Ukrainian protests during the Maidan of 2013-2014 against former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Krasikov, like other released Russian operatives, is expected to receive a hero’s welcome and perhaps a medal upon his return to Moscow. Agents who were previously returned to Russia have received a wide range of government jobs, and some have even become celebrities.

“Hostage Diplomacy”

Western officials have acknowledged the growing problem of “hostage diplomacy,” but have seemed powerless to stop it. In February, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said hostage diplomacy was a “growing trend” that violates international law and human rights.

“States — but also non-state actors — are increasingly wrongfully detaining people, often as political pawns. This practice threatens the safety of everyone who travels, does business, and lives abroad,” Blinken said.

Blinken was speaking at an event marking the third anniversary of the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in Relations between States, an initiative launched by Canada after two of its citizens, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, were arrested by China and charged with espionage.

Kovrig and Spavor were detained shortly after Canada arrested Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, for fraud.

Experts say China and Russia are world leaders in using prisoners for influence. Iran and North Korea are also known to use the tactic. Moscow has often accused the West of hypocrisy and excess, and the United States in particular of unfairly acting as the world’s policeman. Bout, for example, was arrested in Thailand in a meticulous sting operation that angered Russia.

However, trials in the West usually take place in open court with open evidence, unlike in Russia or China, where evidence is often secret and the rights of the accused are severely restricted. The Russian judicial system is highly politicized, used to suppress opposition, and according to the judicial department of the Supreme Court of Russia, more than 99.5% of prosecutions end in convictions.

Experts say that when citizens are arrested by hostile countries, their governments have few good options, so they are forced to leave their citizens in foreign prisons, often in extremely harsh conditions, or negotiate a deal, sending a morally difficult message that hostage-taking works.

In the case of Canada and China in 2021, the countries released detainees around the same time.

Before Thursday’s swap, about two dozen Americans were being held in Russian prisons, including two the State Department found to be wrongfully detained, Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan.

Among them was another journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual US-Russian citizen who was returned during the exchange, as well as others who remained, including school teacher Mark Vogel and Los Angeles cosmetologist Ksenia Karelina, who has dual citizenship.

Germany’s agreement to extradite Krasikov was notable given that a German judge had called the killing “state terrorism” committed on orders from Russian intelligence services and sentenced him to life in prison. In response, Germany expelled two Russian diplomats in 2021, and German politicians have ruled out a swap.

Despite this, Berlin changed its position earlier this year, agreeing to exchange Krasikov for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny just before his death in prison in February, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.

Navalny’s wife and close associates have accused Putin of ordering his death to prevent the swap, charges the Kremlin vigorously denies.

To bring Germany back on board for the exchange, some of Russia’s most high-profile prisoners had to be included, further highlighting the imbalance in the exchange between Moscow and the West.

The rules are changing

The growing practice of powerful states like Russia and China imprisoning Western citizens is encouraging other countries to do the same, subtly changing global rules and creating uncertainty that can be exploited to push back against norms in other areas.

It also dramatically increases the risks for journalists, aid workers and business leaders, especially those working in conflict zones and fragile states.

But it also carries risks for violating nations because of the chilling effect on trade, business and even informal and cultural ties.

The James Foley Foundation was founded by the family of a journalist killed by the Islamic State in Syria in 2014 to advocate for the release of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents unjustly arrested or held hostage abroad. The group’s 2024 report notes a sharp rise in Russian arrests of Americans since 2022, with Russia detaining an average of nine U.S. citizens each year, four times the average over the previous 14 years, underscoring Putin’s growing appetite for the practice and worsening relations between Moscow and Washington.

In total, from January 1, 2001, to May 31, 2024, 437 U.S. citizens were taken hostage or illegally detained abroad, the foundation reports.

“The U.S. government must do more to hold accountable those countries or individuals responsible for the kidnapping or wrongful detention of U.S. citizens. Ensuring impunity in such cases undermines justice, encourages future wrongful detentions and hostage-takings, and threatens the safety of U.S. citizens abroad,” the foundation said.

Prisoners who have a reputation or strong support groups, like Gershkovich and Kurmasheva, have a better chance of being released than prisoners like teacher Vogel.

Fogel pleaded guilty to smuggling cannabis, saying he needed it for medical use. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The State Department did not designate Fogel as “wrongfully detained” by Russia, meaning U.S. officials are giving the case priority. Kurmasheva, who was released, was also not found to have been wrongfully detained.

(C)UNIAN 2024