Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“In early August, Pablo Gonzalez was taken from a prison in Poland and flown to Moscow on a plane carrying Russian deep-cover agents, hackers and a hitman for the FSB intelligence service. The group was met at the airport by a military guard, red carpet and Vladimir Putin – thanking them for their loyal service to the country. Video footage from that night in Moscow shows Mr González smiling as he shakes hands with President Putin at the foot of the plane steps. Black-bearded, with a shaven and shiny head, he’s wearing a Star Wars T-shirt that declares ‘Your Empire Needs You.’ Known by his Russian friends as ‘Pablo, the Basque journalist’, the 42-year-old was part of a major prisoner swap for Westerners held in Russian jails and Russian dissidents. In the group freed by Vladimir Putin were two opposition activists Mr Gonzalez was accused of spying on. He’d been arrested in Poland in 2022 for alleged espionage.” (08/31/24)