Arbitrary arrests?
The federal government knows of around 30 Germans imprisoned in Russia
February 23, 2024, 8:41 a.m
The authorities recently arrested a 38-year-old German in St. Petersburg for half a dozen cannabis gummy bears. A total of around 30 German citizens are said to be imprisoned in Russian prisons. The number of unreported cases could be even higher.
Almost 30 German citizens are currently in Russian custody. As the federal government announced in an answer to a written question from MP Andrej Hunko, around half of them also have Russian citizenship. “It cannot be ruled out that there are other prisoners with German citizenship of whom the federal government has not yet been informed,” the answer says.
A 38-year-old German was recently arrested at the airport in the Russian city of St. Petersburg because he had gummy bears containing cannabis in his luggage. Customs in the city of over a million people said that when he entered Russia, a bag with six fruit gums with a total weight of 20 grams was found on the man. A quick test showed that the sweets contained tetrahydrocannabinol – the main active ingredient in cannabis. If convicted of drug possession, the German traveler in Russia could face up to seven years in prison, the RBC newspaper reported. According to Russian information, he flew from Hamburg via Istanbul to Saint Petersburg.
US basketball player Brittney Griner, who also played for a Russian club, was arrested in Russia in 2022 because of small amounts of cannabis oil. She was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug smuggling and was later exchanged for a Russian arms dealer imprisoned in the USA. In its response to MP Hunko, the Federal Government pointed out that the Foreign Office had already warned of the danger of arbitrary arrests in Russia in its travel and security advice.
Are these arbitrary arrests?
Last week, the Russian investigative media “Mediazona” published excerpts from the Russian wanted register, which prove that numerous Western politicians are listed there. The journalists mainly reported on affected high-ranking representatives from the Baltics, including the Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. The name of the FDP local politician Michael Rubin from Frankfurt am Main can also be found on the list.
“The federal government must urgently clarify how many Germans imprisoned in Russia are, in their view, arbitrary arrests,” demanded Hunko. The MP, who belongs to the Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) group in the Bundestag, said this was necessary in order to be able to better warn the German public.