He Spanish journalist Pablo Gonzalezarrested in 2022 in Rzeszow, Poland, has been set free as part of a prisoner exchange.
This was announced by his defence in a statement. It was also reported that the Basque journalist, who at the time of his arrest was reporting on the arrival of Ukrainian refugees to this Polish town after the Russian invasion, has been transferred to Russia after two years and five months in prison.
Pablo Gonzalez, a freelance contributor for the newspaper Público and La Sexta, was arrested on the night of February 27-28, 2022 in Przemysl, Poland, shortly after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, under suspected of carrying out operations for the benefit of Russia taking advantage of his status as a journalist. Although no formal charges were ever brought, Gonzalez has been held in a windowless, high-security cell in Radom prison, where he spent 23 hours a day.
Poland maintains that Gonzalez used the names Aleksey Rutsov or Pavel Rubtsovwhich are their birth names, and was arrested with Spanish and Russian passports. The Polish authorities consider this and the monthly transfers of 350 euros from his father from Moscow as evidence of his links to the Kremlin. González has dual nationality because he is the grandson of a child from the Spanish Civil War who was taken to Russia and has been registered under both names in the Civil Registry of Vizcaya since 1991.
In the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War, international media reports that American journalist Evan Gershkovich was also released on Thursday. and another twenty people, including former military officer Paul Whelan. In exchange, the United States, Germany and Slovenia handed over several citizens accused of espionage or murder, including Gonzalez.
The United States negotiated for months for the release of Evan Gershkovich, arrested in March 2023 while reporting on the war in Ukraine. Accused of espionage, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in a quick trial, signaling the Kremlin’s intention to speed up an exchange. President Joe Biden has vowed to step up efforts to bring him back. Reporters Without Borders expressed relief at his release, stressing that Gershkovich should not have spent a single day in prison for his journalistic work, and noted that More than 40 journalists remain detained in Russia.
The operation, which according to Turkish broadcaster NTV was coordinated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, took place in Ankara and was the result of intense negotiations, and has resulted in the total exchange of 26 prisoners. This exchange follows other notable ones, such as the one in December 2022, when Russia traded basketball player Brittney Griner by Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
The whole process, that is, the exchange of imprisoned journalists marks a significant milestone in favor of freedom of all journalists who are currently imprisoned in various countries, the document continues.
This act was carried out by Humanitarian reasonsrecognizing the importance of journalism in society. The success of the exchange is due to intense negotiations and exhaustive legal work, which established an appropriate legal framework and guaranteed respect for the rights and dignity of the journalists involved.
Turkish public radio and television TRT The affected people arrived in Turkey on seven planes from the United States, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Russia. Ten peopleincluding two minors, They moved to Russia after the exchange at Ankara airport. Of the Of the remaining 16, 13 flew to Germany and three to the United States.
Gonzalez, through his defense statement, wanted to thank the Russian authorities for their genuine interest in freeing him while others have focused mainly on criminalizing him. This may be a reference to the discontent that Pablo Gonzalez’s family has expressed with the Spanish Governmentaccusing him of having done nothing to help the journalist, particularly criticising the lack of action by President Pedro Sánchez during his visit to Poland in June 2022.
At the end of the writing, thanks are given, on behalf of Pablo and his family, to all the people and organizations, especially Free Pablofor his tireless work to achieve his freedom and it is confirmed that The Basque journalist will address the press when he is ready.
Follow the AS Newspaper channel on WhatsAppwhere you will find all things sport in one place: the latest news, the agenda with the latest news on the most important sporting events, the most notable images, the opinions of the best AS journalists, reports, videos, and a bit of humour from time to time.