Russia may seek prisoner exchange after journalist’s detention — The Japan Times

In Russia — an aggressor state — speculation is growing after the detention of a journalist from the Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun that Moscow may use him for a prisoner exchange. Russia’s FSB said it had detained a reporter from the publication’s bureau in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on suspicion of espionage. The journalist was later transferred to Moscow, where a court authorized his detention for two months.

As The Japan Times reports, representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Russia visited Moscow’s Lefortovo pretrial detention center after arranging the visit with the Russian side in advance. However, they were unable to meet the reporter or confirm his state of health.

Japan demands consular access

A representative of the Japanese Embassy did not explain why the meeting did not take place, but said that diplomats would continue to demand consular access to the detainee as soon as possible. Japan’s Foreign Ministry summoned Russia’s ambassador to Japan, Nikolai Nozdrev, and lodged a protest. The Russian Embassy said that Nozdrev rejected the Japanese side’s position.

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Version of a possible exchange

According to the publication, some sources link the journalist’s detention to the transfer to Germany of a Russian hacker whom Japan detained in May at Berlin’s request. The hacker was described as a key member of the international Qilin group, which carried out cyberattacks, including against Japanese companies and hospitals.

A Russian independent media outlet suggested that the reporter’s detention could have been Moscow’s response to Tokyo’s announcement of the hacker’s extradition. A Japan expert quoted by a U.S. government-affiliated broadcaster considers the journalist’s release possible as part of an exchange in which Russia may demand the release of hackers. According to this broadcaster, Moscow may also seek the lifting of Japanese sanctions.