A detail that has left the legal sector astounded this week is the disclosure by Maria Pevchikh, a close affiliate of the late Alexei Navalny, that the Russian opposition leader was near to being released in a prisoner exchange deal. As stated in Jurist, Pevchikh, on Monday, announced that Navalny and two American citizens were being offered in exchange for FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, who is presently incarcerated in Germany for murder.
According to Pevchikh, the exchange arrangements were in the final stages on the eve of Navalny’s demise. A plan, which had taken over two years to develop and had been approved in Spring 2023 but delayed due to political unwillingness, was nearing realization by the end of the year. Citing Wall Street Journal and other sources, Pevchikh spoke about evidence pointing to the likelihood of the deal coming through.
She claimed that although Roman Abramovich, an informal negotiator, introduced the idea of the swap to Putin, he refused to respond to her queries. Pevchikh charged that Putin maneuvered to have Krasikov released but could not stand the thought of freeing Navalny. She says that, driven by enmity for Navalny, Putin orchestrated Navalny’s murder in the hopes of later trading Krasikov for another prisoner.
Navalny, who was dealing with charges revolving around “extremist activities,” has been behind bars since 2021. Post his disappearance within the penal system, he had been held in the so-called “Polar Wolf” Arctic penal colony from December. February 16 saw a declaration of his death, in custody, by the jail authorities, igniting international condemnation and protests throughout Russia. As reported by his allies, Navalny’s dead body is currently being retained from his mother unless she consents to a covert burial.