The difference between Russia's and the United States's judicial systems is a major factor in negotiations to release Americans detained by Moscow, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan believes.
Sullivan led the embassy from February 2020 through this past September, which includes President Joe Biden agreeing to a prisoner swap to secure former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed his freedom and the wrongful detentions of WNBA superstar Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan on drug and espionage charges, respectively."It's an asymmetry. The Russians are able to arrest, convict, [and] sentence Americans without an independent judiciary, and they can do it on a whim. They did it with Trevor Reed.
Earlier this month, Biden agreed to exchange convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout for Griner, whom the administration considered wrongfully detained after she was arrested and charged with bringing vape cartridges that contained minimal amounts of marijuana last February. Griner had been sentenced to nine years in prison and was in a penal colony at the time the deal was agreed upon. He also freed Reed in a prisoner swap for convicted Russian drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko last April.
"The Russians have been consistent in how they have characterized Paul Whelan as a spy. He was charged and convicted of espionage," he explained."The consequence of that has become clear, that the United States is engaged in discussions with the Russians about trying to get Paul released.
"Paul was arrested at the very end of December of 2018, when I was deputy secretary of state," Sullivan continued."I remember the day he was arrested. I was in my office in the department, as was Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo, when we spoke to each other and said, you know, that this was a bad thing that American citizen had been arrested and that the Russians at the time and have continued to try to make the case that Paul is somehow a spy. He's not.
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