Exchanged prisoner Yashin condemns his 'illegal expulsion' from Russia

 Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition activist

“Don't confuse the Putin regime with Russia. Kremlin propaganda wants to pretend that everyone in our country supports Putin's dictatorship and supports his aggressive war in Ukraine. This is a lie. And don't let anyone convince you that these Kremlin lies have any connection to reality.”

"I not only believe and not only think, I know for sure that I will definitely return to Russia, and all of us will definitely return to Russia. And that the day will definitely come when Russia will become a free, normal, civilized, European country. I have absolutely no doubt that this day will come. Let us do everything in our power to bring this day closer together."

“There are many people in Russia who oppose Putin's war in Ukraine. Don't believe the lies spread by Kremlin propaganda,” said Vladimir Kara-Mursa at a press conference in Bonn on Friday (August 2) evening.

They thanked all those who helped secure their release and that of 14 other political prisoners from Russian jails. The exchange had saved the lives of some of the detainees, said Andrei Pivovarov, member of the Russian opposition group "Open Russia". They knew that this had not been an easy decision for Germany, said Kara-Mursa. He has no doubt that he will return to Russia one day.

The third released activist, Ilya Yashin, said that he had not agreed to be deported from Russia as part of a prisoner exchange. “I do not consider what happened to me on the first of this month as an exchange. I consider this event as an expulsion from Russia, an illegal expulsion from Russia against my will. And I will say it frankly, I will say it as it is. More than anything, I want to go home now," he said.

Russia and Western states led by the USA had exchanged 24 prisoners on Thursday. In Germany, the prison sentence of Vadim Krassikov, the Russian known as the Tiergarten murderer, was ended prematurely and he was deported to Russia.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/exchanged-prisoners-condemn-russias-leadership-045454441.html