EU relieved over release of 'unjustly persecuted' prisoners
Russia and some Western countries exchanged 26 prisoners on Thursday. Turkey coordinated the international prisoner exchange. It marks the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. The 26 prisoners involved are from Russia, Belarus, the United States, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Norway.
The Europe Union is relieved at the release of several political prisoners, including therefore some EU citizens. European High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell said so on Thursday evening.
"The released activists, human rights defenders and journalists have been unjustly persecuted and imprisoned for political reasons by the Russian and Belarusian regimes and held in intolerable conditions," he echoed.
Borrell further called for the "immediate and unconditional" release of political prisoners and anyone still unjustly detained in Russian and Belarusian prisons.
(SR for Tagtik/Illustration picture: Pixabay)
