Evan Gershkovich and the WikiLeaks publisher are both facing espionage charges.
If Moscow decides on a prisoner swap involving Evan Gershkovich, it should ask for Julian Assange’s release from a British dungeon, Russian State Duma Deputy Sergey Obuhkov said on Friday.
Obuhkov, a Russian Communist Party MP, told reporters that some members of the Duma have already proposed offering political asylum to former US President Donald Trump and trading him for Gershkovich.
“I say, let’s exchange him for Assange instead,” Obukhov told RIA Novosti.
Russian authorities detained Gershkovich in Ekaterinburg on March 30, saying they caught him “red-handed” in an act of espionage. A Lefortovo court has ordered the Moscow bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal to remain in custody for two months. He is appealing the decision and will face the judges again on April 18.
Earlier this week, the district attorney in New York had the 45th US president arrested on charges of improper business bookkeeping, supposedly related to “hush money” paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels, which they allege somehow improperly influenced the 2016 presidential election. Trump has denounced the charges as a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
Assange has been held in Belmarsh prison in south London since April 2019, after Ecuador canceled his asylum under pressure from the US. He had spent almost seven years in the embassy of the Latin American country, seeking refuge from trumped-up Swedish charges he called a front for US persecution.
After his arrest, Washington unsealed a years-old indictment charging the WikiLeaks publisher under the Espionage Act. He is wanted for the 2010 publication of the notorious ‘Collateral Murder’ video showing the US military killing civilians, as well as other US classified documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. If extradited and convicted, Assange faces up to 175 years behind bars.
Russia and the US last swapped prisoners in December, with Moscow releasing convicted drug smuggler and basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for businessman Viktor Bout. Washington has faced criticism for not requesting the release of Paul Whelan, a retired US Marine serving a sentence in Russia for espionage.
for the ones interested.
Victor bout was interviewed by scott ritter after his release a few months ago.
The video is published in scott ritter’ s account on substack.
Free access. But you can upgrade to pay
At least the proposed swap would remove Assange from the constant danger that he has been in for many years now for reporting the truth…I say; GO FOR IT!!!
Noteworthy are the many comment sections of the various online newsies is the recommendation that IF Assange is released from Belmarsh, that he should go immediately to the Russian Embassy and request Political Asylum, OR hire a private jet to fly to Moscow and declare Political Asylum on arrival.
Kim Dotcom should do the same, and get away from 5-Eyes New Zealand ASAP!
See John Mark Dougan and Patrick Lancaster’s channels, U.S. Veterans now living in Russia and reporting the news that the Western Zionist-controlled media do NOT want you to see!
there are also many european ex army officers living in moscow and st pertersburg. Recycled i security.
They love russia.
Met them on reader s blog
Trump has enough $$$ for excellent lawyers, AND re-locating overseas, perhaps in Melania’s home country.
Better still is if he is falsely and maliciously convicted of a ‘civil litigation matter that has been transformed into a federal felony’, that he should go dark, and pre-arrange private jet travel on an anonymous aircraft out of the U.S. and then on to Russia, where he too can request Political Asylum.
From what I can see, his U.S. Passport has not been surrendered, and hopefully he has a Caribbean Nation Passport of some type readily available for International Travel!