A Briton released in the largest prisoner exchange with Russia since the Cold War called on his countrymen not to “confuse Russia with Vladimir Putin regime.”
Speaking in Bonn, Vladimir Kara-Murza criticized the way the Russian president governs the country. In his opinion, this kind of government does not represent the whole population.
“The difference between a dictatorship and a democracy is that in a democracy human life is sacred,” Kara-Murza said.
Referring to the Ukrainian war, which the Kremlin has labelled as a special military operation, Kara-Murza added: “That’s a lie.
Don’t let anyone convince you that this Kremlin lie has nothing to do with real life.”
He added, “I know I will return to Russia and the day will come when Russia will be free.”
Kara-Murza was speaking along with Ilya Yashin and Andrei Pivovarov, who were also released under the U.S.-Russian prisoner swap agreement.
He said he was “really happy to be free,” adding that his days since his release had been “something like a movie.”
The British-Russian was serving a 25-year sentence for treason.
About two dozen people from countries including Russia, the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus interacted on Thursday.
Evan Gershkovich, a US reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and US Marine Paul Whelan also took part in the interaction.
Among those returning to Russia were a couple from “sleeper cells,” a notorious cybercriminal and an assassin.