Russian killer seen as potential swap for jailed journo Evan Gershkovich
US officials have identified a Russian serving a life sentence for murder in Germany as someone Vladimir Putin may be willing to swap for Americans jailed by the Kremlin.
US officials have identified a Russian serving a life sentence for murder in Germany as someone Vladimir Putin may be willing to swap for Americans jailed on trumped-up charges by the Kremlin, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Vadim Krasikov, 58, was jailed for murdering a Chechen dissident in Berlin’s Tiergarten park in 2019. He cycled up to Zelimkhan Khangoshvili and shot him three times in the back and head.
Before the verdict was reached, the Russian President ordered his officials to explore a prisoner swap deal with the German authorities, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Four years on, diplomats in Washington believe Krasikov could be key to freeing former marine Paul Whelan, and Gershkovich, who was arrested in March and charged with espionage. The newspaper and the US government deny all the charges.
The US regards both men as “wrongfully detained”.
Mr Putin has sought to repatriate several operatives caught carrying out what are widely believed to be state-backed operations against targets such as Khangoshvili.
The German court said Krasikov, who was arrested within minutes of the murder, had acted explicitly on the orders of the Russian security services.
While President Joe Biden has indicated that he sees prisoner swaps as a legitimate way of getting captured Americans home, any deal involving Krasikov is likely to be difficult.
The Germans have not indicated they would be prepared to allow Krasikov to return to Russia and government lawyers in Berlin issued a legal opinion last year stating that those convicted of murder cannot be traded.
Russia has indicated it would be unwilling to free Gershkovich, 32, before his case was heard and a verdict has been reached. Whelan, 53, was convicted on espionage charges in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The Russians, however, are known to prize Krasikov’s return. German prosecutors connected him to the Vympel department of the Russian Federal Security Service, which specialises in foreign-based operations.
As part of their case, prosecutors presented CCTV footage of Krasikov killing Russian businessman Albert Nazranov in 2013 in Moscow. The images show Krasikov approaching the victim on a bicycle, shooting him in the back and then in the head.
Krasikov pleaded not guilty to the Berlin shooting, even though there were several witnesses and DNA evidence was presented by the prosecution. He answered, “No, thank you,” when the judge asked him at the end of the trial whether he had any comment to make.
Russia’s foreign ministry maintains that Krasikov was not responsible for the shooting and that his prosecution was politically motivated.
Khangoshvili, a Georgian national, fled to Germany in 2016. His application for asylum was rejected but he stayed in the country. He was accused by the Russians of commanding a raid by Chechen fighters in 2004 that took over much of the city of Nazran, close to the Georgian border.
The Times
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