Germany's Scholz meets freed Russian activist Vladimir Kara-Murza

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Russian-British activist and Kremlin opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was released from Russian captivity last month in a major East-West prisoner swap.

"I admire the strength and courage of Vladimir Kara-Murza and his tireless commitment to a democratic future for Russia," the chancellor said in post on X on Tuesday.

"We secured his release during the prisoner exchange in August and today we had the opportunity to talk to each other for a longer period of time," Scholz after the meeting in Berlin.

Kara-Murza is one of more than 20 detainees who were freed at the beginning of August in an unprecedented prisoner exchange between Russia and the United States, Germany and other Western countries.

After his release, he first travelled to Germany. US President Joe Biden later received him in Washington.

The 42-year-old is one of the most prominent opposition figures in Russia. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison there in April 2023 on charges of high treason.

"The exchange on August 1 has shown that the free world cares and that, contrary to stereotype, there is still room for decency and values in international politics," Kara-Murza wrote in a column for the Washington Post last month.

"We must not let this become an exception — and we must not rest until the others who are unjustly imprisoned by Putin’s dictatorship are home and reunited with their families, too."