Foreign
Putin accused of killing opposition leader to thwart prisoner swap
“Navalny should have been free in the next few days because we had secured a decision to exchange him,” Pevchikh said. “I received confirmation that the negotiations were at their final stage on the evening of 15 February.”
Pevchikh’s video address comes days after Navalny’s widow, Yulia, promised that his team would soon tell the world “why exactly Putin killed Alexei”.
Pevchikh alleged that Navalny was killed because the Russian president could not tolerate the thought of him being free. “I’m telling you this story so that you have an answer to the question of why Navalny was killed now,” she said.
She claimed Putin decided to “get rid of the object of bargaining” by killing Navalny so that Krasikov could be exchanged for someone else. “It’s absolutely illogical … It’s the behaviour of a mad mafioso,” she said.
In recent months there had been growing murmurs that western leaders might try to include Navalny’s name in a list of people to be part of a potential prisoner exchange between Russia and the west. The German papers Bild and Zeit reported that German authorities had discussed exchanging Navalny for Krasikov.
Sergei Guriev, an economist and longtime Navalny ally, told the Guardian in September that he knew from “direct and indirect” correspondence with Navalny that the politician’s insistence that he would remain in Russia no longer applied.
The German government on Monday said it was aware of media reports of a planned prisoner swap for Navalny and said it could not comment.
Pevchikh said Navalny’s allies had been working since the start of the Ukraine war on a plan to get him out of Russia as part of a prisoner exchange involving “Russian spies in exchange for political prisoners”.
Pevchikh did not name the two US citizens who would be part of the swap, though Putin previously said he was open to exchanging the jailed US journalist Evan Gershkovich for Krasikov.
Russia has long sought to involve Krasikov in a prisoner exchange with the west. Moscow previously requested that Krasikov be released in a swap for the US marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year prison sentence in Russia. The US at the time was unable to deliver on the request for Krasikov.
Pevchikh said her team had made desperate efforts and tried to find intermediaries, even approaching Henry Kissinger, but said western governments had failed to show the necessary political will.
“Officials, American and German, nodded their heads in understanding. They recounted how important it was to help Navalny and political prisoners, they shook hands, made promises and did nothing,” she said.
Navalny is just the latest of Putin’s opponents to have died over the course of Russian leader’s nearly 25 years in power.
Meanwhile, Navalny’s team said they were looking for a venue where his supporters could publicly bid him farewell later this week.
“We are looking for a hall for a public farewell to Alexei … If you have a suitable venue, please contact us,” Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote on X.
Yarmysh said the idea was to hold the event, which is separate from a funeral, by the end of the working week.
Navalny’s funeral location has not yet been announced, though he is expected to be buried in Moscow. His body was handed over to his mother on Saturday, nine days after he died.
A United States federal court has set August 21, 2026, as the deadline for the release of records linked to longstanding allegations concerning Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and U.S. financial accounts associated with him in the 1990s.
The records are being sought in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by Aaron Greenspan, which has reportedly been before the federal courts for more than three years.
The documents are understood to be held by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The development followed a reported request by the DOJ for an additional 10 days to comply with an earlier court order requiring the release of the records.
According to Von Batten, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican lobbying firm, Tinubu also joined the DOJ’s request for the extension.
The firm said it obtained a copy of a recent court filing submitted on Tinubu’s behalf and claimed that the Nigerian president formally joined the request just two business days before it became public.
However, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell rejected the request for additional time and directed that the records be released by August 21.
Von Batten said Tinubu’s reported decision to participate in the extension request raised questions about his reasons for seeking more time before the records are made public.
The firm alleged that the delay could potentially be used to lobby U.S. officials over concerns that releasing the documents might affect U.S.-Nigeria relations.
It further speculated that Tinubu could argue that disclosure of the records might affect his cooperation with Washington on counterterrorism and security matters.
The records relate to allegations dating back to the early 1990s, including the 1993 forfeiture of approximately $460,000 connected to accounts associated with Tinubu in a U.S. proceeding involving suspected proceeds of narcotics trafficking.
Tinubu has consistently denied wrongdoing and has rejected allegations linking him personally to drug trafficking.
Von Batten also warned against any attempt by U.S. officials to interfere with the FOIA or judicial process to prevent the records from being released.
The lobbying firm referenced U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated opposition to shielding individuals accused of serious criminal conduct, arguing that the legal process should be allowed to proceed without political interference.
With Judge Howell’s ruling in place, the records are expected to be released on or before August 21, unless further legal action changes the deadline.
The contents of the documents remain unknown, and their release could provide further information about the 1990s forfeiture proceedings and U.S. law-enforcement investigations involving accounts linked to Tinubu.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
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