Swapped Russian opposition politician Kara-Murza claims sanctions on Russia are unfair

Vladimir Kara-Murza. Photo: Getty Images

Russian opposition politician and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was recently released from imprisonment, has stated that Western sanctions imposed in recent years have not been targeted at Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s regime but rather against the entire country and its citizens.

Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian media outlet

Details: Kara-Murza recalled that he and politician Boris Nemtsov had been involved in political work on the international front for many years and stated that he would continue to do so.

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Quote: “The idea of the Magnitsky Act is that those individuals who, according to confirmed and reliable data, participated in corruption and human rights violations in their own country will no longer be able to export their ill-gotten gains and enjoy the benefits of democratic principles in Western countries.

We have seen in recent years, especially since the beginning of the war, that many democratic countries have strayed from this principle.

And we often see that the sanctions imposed by Western democratic countries are no longer directed against the Putin regime or specific criminals in the upper echelons of the Putin regime but against the entire country and all Russian citizens.”

More details: Kara-Murza believes it is “extremely unfair and counterproductive” because it allows Russian propaganda to depict Russians as being “encircled by enemies”. 

Kara-Murza added that sanctions against officials should be personal, recalling Nemtsov’s words, “Don’t touch the country; punish the scoundrels”.

Background: 

• On Thursday, Türkiye officially confirmed the exchange of 26 prisoners held in prisons in seven different countries: the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus.
• Among others, The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and US Marine Paul Whelan, German citizen Rico Krieger, who was imprisoned in Belarus, and Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin were released.
• Among the 24 individuals involved in the exchange are opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza and Russian murderer Vadim Krasikov. 
• Negotiations between the West and Russia, which led to Thursday’s large prisoner exchange, reportedly lasted more than two years. 

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