.png)
11 months ago
9
ARTICLE AD BOX
THERE may be fresh hope for falsely imprisoned journalist Evan Gershkovich as Putin revealed potential plans for a prisoner swap.
Mad Vlad told journalists today that Russia and the US have been in talks over finding a “mutually acceptable solution”.
AP
Reuters
Putin today held a televised call-in show for the first time since 2021 where he took questions from journalists and the publicAmerican journalist Gershkovich has already spent over 250 days locked up on bogus spy charges which carry up to a 20-year sentence.
The 32-year-old today appeared in Russian court in a glass cage as his most recent bid for freedom was rejected.
Meanwhile President Putin held his first call-in show answering questions from journalists and the public since his brutal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In a rare question taken from a Western journalist, the despot leader discussed potential for an agreement of Gershkovich’s release as well as American citizen Paul Whelan.
Putin said there had been a “dialogue” with the US over their freedom and that he is hoping for a “solution”.
“It’s not that we decline to send them home,” he claimed.
“No, we want to come to terms and these agreements must be mutually acceptable and should be okay for both of the parties.
“We have contacts with our American partners on that. We are in touch with them and we pursue dialogue.
“It is not at all easy… but I think that we speak the language that both sides understand.”
He added: “But the American side should also listen to us and make a decision that would be satisfactory for the Russian side also.”
Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich was detained by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in March on trumped up charges of espionage.
Washington has repeatedly slammed the charges as “ridiculous” and US ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy today said:
“Evan’s ordeal has now stretched on for over 250 days. His life has been put on hold for over eight months for a crime he didn’t commit.
“It is not acceptable that Russian authorities have chosen to use him as a political pawn.”
The WSJ has firmly denied the charges against him, as have his family, and the international community has pushed for his freedom.
Russia has not provided any evidence to support the allegations.
The decision to block his release today followed from a closed-door hearing in November which extended his imprisonment until January 30.
He has repeatedly appealed for freedom with no luck as Putin’s corrupt legal web continues to draw out his detention.
Meanwhile the Russian president’s “Direct Line with Vladimir Putin” screening on Thursday shone a light on the mad despot’s failing popularity in Russia.
During an excruciating blunder messages popped up on screens at the event demanding he quit and telling him not to run for another term.
Another awkward message for the president read: ”Why is your ‘reality’ at odds with our lived reality?”
The critical messages – undoubtedly a mistake under what were tightly controlled conditions – asked him when the “real Russia” would match “the one on TV”.
Unsurprisingly he did not answer any of the embarrassing questions.
Media control in Russia is extreme – with Gershkovich’s imprisonment serving as a prime example.
The WSJ dubbed it “a vicious affront to a free press” that “should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world”.
AFP
Embarrassing questions popped up on screens during Putin’s conference – including this one which read: ‘Why is your ‘reality’ at odds with our lived reality?’
AFP
English (US)