The German authorities released and returned to Russia a convicted killer who was almost certainly a government-hired hitman as part of an exchange of prisoners. I have mixed feelings about this one.
Chapters:
00:00 An exchange
01:02 The fly in the ointment
01:48 Two arrivals
02:23 The shooting
03:29 A star witness
04:35 Conviction and imprisonment
04:57 A bitter taste
Music:
“Hot Swing”
by Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com/
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35 Comments
The Chechen who was killed was an Islamic terrorist, but it's terrible that the evil Russian got rid of him…
I find this framing terrible, as if Alexei Navalny wasn't an extreme right-wing neo-Nazi.
Germany once again stands firmly behind the swastika.
I hate Nazis and neither the Greens nor the SPD will be able to teach me better.
I don't like to call it "Prisoner exchange".
Russia held these people as hostages and now used them to have their own criminals and spies returned.
If Navalny wouldn't die this probably would never happen. The Greens were against the exchange initially, but later changed their mind after Navalny's death and pressure from Scholz.
So we changed our approach and are now negotiating with terrorists….
Not amused….
Krassikov will not be able to serve Russia in future secret missions because his face was in the media. And he is assumingly not allowed to reenter Germany or the EU if he do not want to serve the rest of his sentence.
i think there is no question here. many innocent lives saved, one scumbag got away. dont forget, we (the „west“) are basically at war now. theres no place for „right“ and „wrong“
As much as I would like to see this guy in prison, he may be worse off in Russia. And this exchange did plenty of good. If you think, this could incentivize Putin to arrest people for good, you haven't paid attention for years!
You're forgetting something quite crucial: yes, these political criminals and murderers get their freedom back, but now the Russian State has to deal with them and pay for their room and board, and they're essentially of no use to Russia, as every security service in the West now knows who they are and they'll be on immigration watch lists.
And they'll be of no use to us as a source of information, as we've probably extracted everything from them we need.
So, basically, we get a bunch of innocent people back, which weakens russia's bargaining hand, and htey have to decide if they're going to carry on paying their now-worthless political tools, or take them for a one-way walk into the woods.
I do not understand the fuss. The only real bargain for Russia is that it has proved to future would-be hitmen that it will look after them if things go wrong, thus increasing the chances of hiring them. The downside, however, is what is seen here as an advantage for Russia: The danger of taking Westerners hostage at random:
Faced with this danger, even fewer people will dare to go to these countries, deepening Russia's isolation and destroying what is left of economic relations, apart from the already sanctioned industries.
So, in my view, not a win for Russia.
I am absolutely fine with this exchange. I rather an innocent person and guilty person both go free as opposed to both sitting in prison
It is an ugly story, especially for the victims, but somehow the murderer was not a common criminal but could be considered a (dirty) prisoner of war.
The Russians just have the better secret service agents (you know, double null – with the licence to kill) than us.
I wonder how ordinary Russians feel about convicted spies (that got caught redhanded right in front of the object they were spying on) that got released after serving only a few months in prison after conviction…
Wie mer's macht, isch's verkehrt.
I guess that the German government's thinking was, well, let's rather not mess with the FSB, next on their list could be one of us.
When it comes to kidnappings for ransom, whether they are clear kidnappings or supposedly legally justified imprisonments of innocent people, it is wrong to give in.
I experienced it in 1977, when a lobbyist (H.M. Schleyer) was kidnapped during the "German Autumn". The then Chancellor decided not to release any prisoners and thus accepted the death of the kidnapped man. The former Chancellor (H. Schmidt), who has since died, acted correctly. Any yielding would have led to subsequent acts.
Consequently, Helmut Schmidt also decreed that no demands should be met in the event of his kidnapping.
At that time, he was still a Chancellor with decisiveness and respectable decisions. H.-M. Schleyer was murdered after 43 days as a hostage. I am not aware of any other attempts at blackmail against the Federal Government.
Convicted murderers must never be "exchanged".
Theres a divide?
1:05 A fly in the ointment! 😀 I haven't heard this wonderful expression for a very long time! 😍 In German we find a hair in the soup.
Germany showed, you can do anything there and get away with it. My Opionion. Russia likes that.
The thing is, the FSB hitman is now marked by police and security services all around Europe, thus, his usefullness is greatly reduced.
It is kinda speaking volumes that the West swapped journalists and civil rights activists, yet what Russia asked for in return were spies, thieves, and common law murderers.
The solution to this is to stop being cowards and support Ukraine until the can thoroughly defeat Russia. This is something that the German government and the Biden administration have been sabotaging for years by their haphazard support.
The situation with the Islamic republic in Iran is even worse as prisoner exchanges are followed by appeasement after appeasement.
Can you make a video on the Troy Bohling case in Germany?
I tend to be of the opinion that all EU nationals living in Russia, should be told to return home, if they refuse it’s made clear to them that there will be no support if arrested or imprisoned. Complicated by Russian spouses that may have to remain in Russia. No business trips or EU journalists based in Russia, they are easy targets for hostage taking. The governments can be informed by their embassies of any relevant Russian news. Conversely all Russians in the EU sent back to Russia, although they would probably attempt to use the HR act to remain. Interesting if the U.K. deported the oligarchs and their “dirty money” laundered by the city of London financial services. Obviously none of this will happen but it does seem to be very reminiscent of the 1960s.
Ich war sehr froh, als ich von dem Austausch gehört habe, weil die Alternative gewesen wäre, daß etliche der in den Westen ausgelieferten Personen ihre Gefängniszeit nicht überlebt hätten, z.B. Kara-Murza.
Meine Götter! When I left Germany, just 14 years ago, Tatort was the nr.1 tv show. I sounds like it's now switched from tv to reality! Please take care of one other!
Mmmh, war das auch nicht ein gemeiner Mörder, dem niemand nachweinen sollte.
Id suggest not travelling to Russia as a tourist at the moment. Go to Bavaria. Weeds legal now and the place is beautiful. Nordlingen is quiet and needs the tourism support. Russia is not so friendly due to, well, a war with the Western world. You could always come to Australia if you have a fortune to waste.
But but but Ukraine asked for it!!!!! 😭
You may feel relieved to know that your overlords are culling Palestinians for the Greater Good.
As a change of Pase, perhaps some stuff on Martin Luther and Karl Marx.
The German public is pissed. And rightfully so.
Dumbass tourists and journalists will continue to get themselves taken hostage. And Putin knows now, that Germany will always give him what he wants. 🤦
There is also the question of the effectivenes of freeing that pohony "Russian Opposition", that has zero political weight. They just siphon money and good will, but have no actual plan for an alternative to putin's imperialist Russia.
Looks like the Second Cold War is picking right up where the first one ended.
This tale reminds me of the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, whose perpetrators were named in a warrant, but live scot free as heroes of Putin. As for the prisoner swap this is a direct insult to Donald Trump who had repeatedly boasted to "get people out". Putin might be thinking his best asset in America is in a terminal decline and Scholz wanted to hand Biden and Harris a big win. I'm sad for the Chechen guy as I was for poor Dawn Sturges in Salisbury, but monsters like Putin are defeated by coordinated intelligent action,
Germany should issue a warning that all German citizens travelling to Russia do it at their own risk as Russia is likely to undertake illegal actions to arrest and imprison them.
Remember the guy first wasn't sure then found the family photos? Remember his reasonings?
I can live with the fact that innocent tourists and journalists released for this exchange. — Fair enough. – Just don't go there anymore. Period. But the Russians for that? First thing in press conference sayin that Ukraine should accept the reality on the ground? That, I cannot stomach…
0:35 Navalny was supposed to be exchanged as well, yes, and once this became public, he died within just a few days.