Freed Russian dissidents say they refused to sign clemency petition

Two Russian dissidents released in a prisoner swap on Thursday said they refused to sign a clemency petition that prison officials had asked to be sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At a press conference in Germany, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin said they did not admit guilt or agree with the expulsion of Russian officials and vowed to return one day.

Mr Kara-Murza said the deal had saved “16 lives” and that he had been convinced he would die in prison.

He added that many Russians “oppose Putin’s war in Ukraine.”

Two men were released as part of an exchange in which 24 prisoners from seven different countries were exchanged.

Those released by Russia include American journalist Alvin Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.

Russians released by Western countries include convicted assassin Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence in Germany for killing a Georgian-born Chechen dissident in a Berlin park.

On Friday, Mr Karamurza and Mr Yashin, along with another dissident Andrei Pivovarov, pledged to continue working towards a “free” Russia and to speak out for the political prisoners still held there. .

The Russian human rights organization “Memorial” said that hundreds of political prisoners are currently in prison.

“I don’t believe I’m going to see my wife again. I don’t believe I’m going to see my family again, it feels really surreal, it feels like a movie,” Mr Karamurza said.

However, he added that the exchange “is just a drop in the ocean, as many innocent people who have never committed a crime in their lives are being held in torture conditions in Russia”.

The freed dissidents also paid tribute to Alexei Navalny, a Putin critic who died in prison in February.

The White House said Thursday that Navalny should have been included in a deal.

“Alexei Navalny is no longer with us and this is a crime committed by Putin, who is directly responsible for his murder,” Yassin said.

Karamurza said he wanted to “remind people in democracies that Russia and Putin are not the same thing.”