British citizen freed in biggest Russia prisoner swap since Cold War

A BRITISH citizen was among several high-profile prisoners released in a major swap deal negotiated between Russia and the West.

- Tara Fair

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist and opposition politician in Russia, was jailed for 25 years after making public remarks critical of the Kremlin.

He has dual UK-Russian citizenship and was arrested in April 2022, weeks after the invasion of Ukraine.

Jailed US journalist Evan Gershkovich was also among those freed as part of the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

Some two dozen people from countries including Russia, the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus were freed.

The complex trade was negotiated with Russia and several other countries in secret for more than a year.

Ankara, the Turkish capital, was chosen as the location for the swap, which took place on Wednesday. US President Joe Biden was due to meet the families of the released Americans at the White House yesterday.