I Consider What Happened to Me a Violent Deportation: Ilya Yashin

Political figure Ilya Yashin, who was released from a Russian penal colony as part of a prisoner exchange between the Russian Federation and the West, has issued a written statement about his refusal to participate in the exchange. He made this announcement at a press conference held in Bonn at the Deutsche Welle editorial office.

"I do not consider what happened to me an exchange. I regard it as an illegal deportation from Russia against my will. I will say it as it is. What I want most right now is to return. My first wish was to immediately go to the airport, buy a ticket, and return to Russia. They made it clear to me that my return would exclude any future exchanges," he stated.

According to Yashin, former municipal deputy from Moscow Alexey Gorinov and former technical director of Navalny Live Daniil Kholodnin were also on the exchange list, but they were “removed from the list at the last moment.”

The political figure also confirmed a statement made by another former political prisoner, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who attended the press conference, that they had refused to write pardon petitions addressed to Vladimir Putin.

Political figures Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Andrey Pivovarov were released from Russian colonies on August 1 as a result of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western countries. Russia handed over 16 detainees to Germany and the US, accepting eight Russians who are accused or convicted of espionage in Western countries, cooperation with Russian intelligence services, and cyber crimes.