The Russian Federation demanded the handover of Vadim Krasikov, convicted of the murder of Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, in exchange for the release of two imprisoned Americans - the American television company CNN reports.
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According to CNN, the Russians communicated with U.S. officials earlier this month through the informal channels of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), during which they indicated they wanted Krasikov's release. However, as sources told CNN, the American side found this request problematic. Krasikov is in custody in Germany, and the communication took place through informal channels.
American basketball player Brittney Griner has been sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison on charges of smuggling drugs into the country. The United States is seeking the extradition of Greiner and another prisoner, Paul Whelan, who was convicted of espionage. In 2020, Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison. In exchange for their handover, Russia demanded the release of Victor Bout, convicted of arms smuggling in the USA.
An unnamed German government official told CNN that U.S. officials had asked the Germans if they could at least include Krasikov in the "trade". However, CNN's source also says the issue has never been discussed at the highest level in the German government.
"Taking two illegally detained Americans as hostages for releasing a Russian murderer imprisoned in a third country is not a serious counteroffer. This is an attempt to derail the deal," National Security Council spokesman Adrienne Watson told CNN after publishing the article.
According to CNN, U.S. officials believe Russia is trying to buy time before the conclusion of Griner's trial with frivolous offers.
In December 2021, the Berlin High Court accepted the request of the Federal Prosecutor's Office. It sentenced Vadim Krasikov, a Russian citizen accused of the murder of 40-year-old Georgian citizen Zelimkhan (Tornike) Khangoshvili, to life imprisonment. Ethnically Chechen, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was from the Pankisi gorge. He fought against Russia in the Second Chechen War.
Khangoshvili left Georgia for Germany in 2015 after another attack on him and asked for asylum. He was shot dead on August 23, 2019, in the Moabit district of Berlin. Khangoshvili was going to the mosque for Friday prayers when a passerby on a bicycle shot him in the head. Zelimkhan Khangoshvili died on the spot. The murderer, Vadim Sokolov, according to his Russian passport, was arrested on the same day.
The German Federal Prosecutor's Office claimed that Zelimkhan Khangoshvili was killed on the orders of the Russian authorities. Germany also expelled two Russian diplomats from the country. However, the Russian government denied any connection with the murder and considered the life imprisonment of its citizen a politicized decision.
The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, also responded to Khangoshvili's murder and called him a "bloody murderer": "He killed 98 people in the Caucasus in just one operation".
