yes, and a penal colony for drugs, possession and smuggling russian officials are vague cartridges containing cannabis, oil and doug. you're just an airport near moscow. so it does this sentence reflect rushes, strict attitude to drugs, or was it sat that high to increase her value when the time comes to do a deal with the united states? i'm so gale in berlin and this is the day ah, later on, this is a miscarriage of justice. no intent to bring in russian law will file an appeal. the u. s. department of state has determined this printer is wrongfully detained, not being in today's decision changes that termination. i know everybody, he's talking about political bond politics. but i hope that is far from this court. you know, when we, it's so brittany,

i think it was tuesday and with the see on thursday and she said see on, don't think so. looks like she was worried also coming up the other prisoners that russia's holding thousands of ukrainian prisoners of war or in russian custody. the w news has been speaking to some of their parents who've been telling us their fears. my biggest concern is that they might not recognize him as a prisoner of war. i have with others, and that they would fabricate a criminal case against him. so using all those lies and twisted evidence, ah, welcome to the day russian court is convicted us basketball, player, brittany greiner, of drugs, possession and smuggling. she was sentenced to 9 years in prison and a fine of a 1000000 roubles, as more than $16000.00. the support staff was arrested for carrying a faith pen and cartridges in her luggage, which contained cannabis,

oil rational authorities, said the charges brought against her, were fully proven. the u. s. s. she has been wrongfully detained. this is a miscarriage of justice. the u. s. department of state has determined that miss griner was wrongfully detained. nothing, and today's decision changes sat determination together with cancer officers from the u. s embassy here in moscow, i attended every session of miss brainers trial. we will continue to be closely engaged in this case. we will remain in frequent contact with ms. craner and with her legal team. secretary of state, lincoln, president biden's of the president vine, his national security team, and the entire american government remain committed to bringing miss griner home safely to her family, friends, and loved ones. and i as charge to fair of the u. s embassy in moscow, will also do my best to bring her home safely. i will continue to do everything

to care for the safety and well being of miss griner. and of all us citizens detained in the russian federation. we have no higher priority. thank you. dw russia, unless konstantin aga gave me his take on brittany, grind a sentence. oh, all central russia hard, especially if that was concerning narcotics. and especially in the case of an american, any american detained, immediately turns into a very valuable hostage. and i think that because of the current situation, the war, are there? look, many americans coming to russia. so brittany greiner began become, becomes, and even more of a legal hostage. but the form is to put in the release as soon as i think he will, in exchange for a valuable russian prison of america. they have to give her a big, big, big, massive sentence because as you know, in russia, courts are just and they have to show that they are completely merciless. ok. i

know you mentioned that base talks between the u. s. secretary of state anthony, blinking on these russian counterparts. ok. laugh rob they they've happened recently about a prisoner swap. didn't amount didn't come to anything. the americans have offered to victor. but tell us who he is and whether that deal might still be on the table . well, i think the deal is on the table and i think that mister putin wants basically, ah, to get the maxim off of this exchange. boot is a russian pilot who's been accused and sentenced in the us for basically illegal arms raid a some journalist, some of colleagues called him merchant of death. and he's been in u. s. jail for quite a long time. and his become a cause celebrity, a famous case in russia, portrayed in the russian state media as an innocent victim of american imperialism,

of a kind of the u. s. trying to punish russia. and i think that britain greiner is going eventually to be exchanged because frankly speaking, such circumstances keeping a basketball star in russian jail is not something that a put him probably would won't end. i suppose that what he does want is to show that he had a victory. he brought back a russian citizen. he brought back victor boot. oh, right. so we expect that in the next a weeks or months. some sort of deal will be done publicly or will this all happen very quietly behind so close doors? well, i don't know. i don't think that such negotiations are conducted in public. just remember, i mean the, the, the negotiations and during the cold war about kind of spike swaps they, when they were conducted in public, i think that the result will be fairly public and everyone, both washington and russia will. if this happens, if this happens, we'll claim that they won ah bots. i think negotiations themselves are always

behind closed doors. i thank you for that and i think russia analyst, constantine, i got ross is also holding thousands of ukrainian prisoners of war. the crowns, foreign minister is accused russia of treating them illegally and using them for political purposes, which is forbidden. under the geneva conventions, russia and proxy authorities in east and ukraine of charge dozens of soldiers with crimes and 3 foreign born ukrainian soldiers have been sentenced to death on allegedly fabricated charges. he w a berkeley to show care that the parents of one man being held by the russians. they fear he could suffer a similar fate. each morning yet, gania would kevin to take some time for herself and quite to look at her son. she hasn't heard from maxine since russian forces captured him 2 months ago. she scared there might be torturing him or that he might be dead. you do cylindrical i sit in

the kitchen and just cry while my husband is still sleeping. when he gets up, i wash my face in person nights and try to be strong for the day and not to cry any more. only in the early mornings i allow myself to cry. what's it different as will oh yeah, the couple invited us to their home because they want the world to know about their son. his parents say, maxine volunteered to join the army, even though he is a pacifist, he had worked as a journalist and activist campaigning for refugees and human rights. but when russia invaded, he decided to take more direct action to washington school. so she did the earned me to he told me i'm joining the army because i have to defend the values i've been fighting for my whole life. yes, this is a booster. they only realized he had been captured when a video of maxine being interrogated was show and and russian state media with

said boucher, it was horrible. the 1st thing i felt was just horror. i saw my early childhood listening through that. then i thought that can't be true crow kremlin telegram tennis quickly called maxime, a nazi a nationalist. they even said he was a british spy because he had worked as a local producer for the b, b. c in 2003. maybe issues in the blue cross blue. my biggest concern is that they might not recognize him as a prisoner of war like they have with others e and that they would fabricate a criminal case against him. so using all those lies in a twisted evidence latisha with some of a good, a storage it was use when you free our domestic intelligence office called home that russia is holding more than 7000 ukrainian so just prisoner. but they won't talk about any of it on camera, because negotiations for prisoners swaps on top secret. a lawyer representing the

families of more than 50 captured soldiers has agreed to talk with us. let us laugh, we cannot see. f works closely with domestic intelligence to try to get prisoners back. he expects that russia will fire more and more criminal cases against ukrainian prisoners of war. i think this is so this is done mostly for their political purposes. when you create search and, you know, important to person gray marches, you know, you can use it to in their political, you know, treat but yes, dania and alexander, i don't want things to get that far. they fired no, didn't appear to the european court of human rights. they say they will fight with everything they have until maxine is really ah, meanwhile, ukrainian present for a lot of years. the landscape is condemned comments by former german chancellor.

gerhard schroeder, suggesting that russia wants to negotiate a solution to its war of aggression. mister shows is refusing to cut ties with the russian leader and is facing an investigation by his own party. the social democrats. it was a self styled diplomatic mission to the kremlin. vladimir putin spokesman confirmed that former german chancellor, gerhard schroeder, met your russian president on the moscow as at last week. in an interview with german media showed us at that put in once a negotiated solution to the war in ukraine, and that the recent grain deal could be slowly expanded into a ceasefire. damages ukraine's president followed him as a lensky made clear what he thought of the former chancellor's diplomatic efforts. moves only to. first of all, it is simply disgusting when former leaders of major states with european values worked for russia, which is at war against these values. he yet,

wu property seamlessly wanting act rushes, using these people as messengers, them to say that the terrorist state allegedly once negotiations, bearablewood ah, scotch, herders and long standing friend of putins. soon after leaving office in 2005, he accepted a job with russian energy company gas from it later became chairman of the supervisory board of another russian energy giant ross left should as refused to distance himself from the russian leader in march. shortly after russia invaded ukraine, he travelled to moscow to meet putin, his wife, posting this picture of herself praying for peace with the kremlin in the background. schluter has been scornfully continued ties with russia. some of his privileges as a former chancellor have been withdrawn and he is facing an investigation by his party, the social democrats over his kremlin lynx. let's get more from the w

correspondent, a simon young welcome, simon. how much trouble is gerhard schroeder in? he's in quite a lot of trouble. phil, as you heard there, he's long faced criticism for his close links, particularly with president vladimir putin, himself, whom he once described famously as a flawless democrat. but this criticism also for his work for russian energy companies, which began pretty much as soon as he left office. he's been working for a gas prom rouse nationals over the nord stream operating company. so what he's now facing is a total of 17 applications that there have been within the s b, d, the social democrat party to throw him out. or of course, it may come to nothing because they're a significant legal obstacles to removing people from political parties. here in

germany, but nonetheless is pretty clear. a lot of people think a gerhard schroeder has gone too far. so tell us more about what this would be go between had to say about her present prudence, decipher it, negotiated settlement to his war and ukraine. yes, right, he was speaking in an interview and he said that russia wants to negotiate a settlement. and he said that the recent grain deal are between russia and ukraine and the, and the international community to get the grain out could be sort of the beginnings of such a year and negotiation. and he also went on so suggest that potential compromises from the russian side, or rather from the ukrainian site, should include accepting sort of russian control or partial control over the don

bass eastern region of ukraine. and also he suggested some sort of neutrality in the future. for you guys as are making these kind of policy points very much in line with the sort of thing the kremlin would probably like to see. right, that now you're not accused russia weapon, i think gas supplies by restricting deliveries through that this nordstrom one pipeline or did mr. sure to have to say about yeah, a he, again, he sort of cast down on the official german line. he said he could see no reason why this turbine that a gas problem currently says is the problem. and he hasn't got a turbine that it needs to operate the nordstrom one pipeline. and he said, disorder said, well, there's no reason why that turbine is currently lying. in, in, in a seaman's factory in germany, rather than in russia. and so effectively suggesting that somehow it, siemens or the german government,

a somehow at fault. and he also said that when he was recently in moscow, i talking with rational authorities. he asked, he said sort of almost naively about whether there was any political effort to sort of a road stop or, or hinder gas flows to europe. and he was told quite clearly know, so again, he's passing on this sort of rushing. you are things are without criticism, it would seem you see it, it does sound like he doesn't think he's in that much trouble. as a multi millionaire, he has to have friends in the kremlin. what does he care whether he's his party is investigating and he's made well, i think, yeah, you know, he's facing a lot of pressure in the media here in germany as well. people saying he's putins pop it in, so i think there are signs that he does react to pressure. he has, after all relinquished his role at roles next. and he also not accepted a proposed job on the board of, of gas prom. but as you say,

his political career is over, so patsy's political roots are less important to him now than some of his business or other connections political correspondence. i'm a young thank you. one of the biggest gatherings of conservative activists in the united states is underway in dallas, texas, speakers that this year's conservative political action conference, or c pac include former president, donald trump and texas governor greg abbott. but it's also rolled out the red carpet for a foreign guest, and gary and prime minister victor all been as enacted hard line policies against immigration and l. g. b t. u writes at home and has consolidated power through his conscious judiciary and media. interestingly, he's not scheduled to speak to you as president joe biden while he's in the country . it's robin speech at c packhorse called how we fight is

a taste. you should know that i am an old fashioned freedom fighter i'm also the longest serving prime minister in europe. the only anti migration political leader on our continent. a father of 5 and grandfather at $25.00 grandchildren, the leader of the country. that is under the siege of progressive liberals day by day. but i think you managed to confuse a lot of people by you wiping me. for example, the left is media. i can already see tomorrow's headline. far right european races, an anti semi strong man. the troy on horse off, which in ot speech at closer. but if conference or

the in the feel free if you want pressure rocker c n g o r probably confused as well. they are already busy writing their so called the search papers. do you form americans hall? i destroyed hungary and democracy according to their research, i managed to re in hungary democracy in 2011. and then they said, i had all in it again in 2012 and then in 2013, and 14, and 15 and so on each and every year. but how did i manage to destroy something that was already growing? well, let's see if we can resolve our parent's confusion with kim lane shefly. she's professor of international affairs at princeton university,

a welcome to the w professor. we've just heard this old fashion freedom fighter. he does love to talk to intellectuals in the media. he calls liberals disney. yeah, absolutely does. and you heard him do that today? you know, what or vance very good at is as you heard in that clip. anticipating what all the criticism is and then immediately dismiss it. as the fantasies of liberals who are all arrayed against him. and so his title, how we fight is exactly designed to show you. that's how he fights. and see how is that the so isolated here in europe among european governments, but so fated by the u. s. right, well the u. s. right, is also not the favorite of most european governments as well. so this is exactly why oregon was coming to the u. s. in fact, it's actually quite remarkable, right, that an allied leader of the united states comes to the united states to criticize the united states and its european allies,

speaking to an opposition party. and then saying, actually at the end of his speech, there was a quote, we must take back the institutions in washington and brussels. we must coordinate the movement of our troops because we face the same challenge. so this is unusual, right? for a head of state to come to the united states and attack the current government and attack of course, european governments as well. so quite clearly an unorthodox a figure, but very successful in his own. any so right. use any parallels between victor alba and said donald trump. well, yes and no. so the reason why victoria been is so successful is that after he won in 2010 with a majority that allowed him to change the constitution at well, he wrote all the election rules so that he couldn't lose subsequent elections. so part of the what looks like or been success is a fiction of the system. he is created in which he can't lose. now donald trump

just wishes he were that successful, donald trump was not as disciplined in his 1st term to change all the election laws . but now what you see is the republican party actually going about changing all the election rules. so that the next time there's a presidential election, the republicans can't lose and that's why i'm afraid they might have invited victor or been because 6 to oregon can show them exactly how that kind of thing works. because it's not just, it's not just that it's not just that the, the changing, the, the rules he, he seems to st. ride loads of different horses and loads of different directions at the same time. how does he get away with denouncing the european union values around immigration and gay people, while accepting that grants and subsidies he demonizes jewish liberal benefactor? did george soros with anti semitic good dog whistles at home, while forging a close relationship with benjamin netanyahu? i get, i guess they, they want to know how he's such

a skillful operator. yeah. well, so one way that he's a skillful operator is that he'll try to do something and then if there's a huge amount of pushback, he'll say, oh no, no, you misunderstood me. so for example, he gave this speech and romania about 10 days ago in which he made really overtly racist statements that sounded even worse and hungarian than in translation. and then when there was this international outcry, he said, oh you've misunderstood me. i was really talking about mixing cultures not races. so he'll walk things back when they, when he goes too far and then he wonders why people get excited. but on his alliance with netanyahu, for example, i mean netanyahu also was the only other foreign leader that i can recall who came to the united states allied himself with the republicans and attacked the sitting democratic government. so in this sense or bonds taken a play taken a page from, from netanyahu's play book, or about is confusing in a lot of ways. because if you just try to look at him as an ideological figure,

he combines a lot of positions that should not be so easily combine of bowl. and that's because orb, i'm actually doesn't really believe in any particular ideology. so he's an opportunist, he whips up these culture war issues, which he made much of in his speech today at c pack, you know, railing against migration, which is one of the issues that got many other members states to be mad at him, defending the family in the sense that, you know, traditional gender roles, anti l g p t q things. he also talked about law and order defending the police building up the military, which he's doing that all looks like straight up conservatism. but he combines that with social policy. that looks a whole lot more like it comes from the left. so he mixes and matches his positions . and it's very difficult to identify him with one common intellectual strand. i mean tree. what is this notion of political opportunism because we have the likes of it's all been and perhaps donald trump,

but even to some extent. britton's bar is john in those so in that sort of breed of politicians who will see which way the political wins are going and move until someone tries to stop them as i will. you've misunderstood me at all. they knew i and happy to sort of subvert laws that haven't kept up with where we are today. oh, they always been around well, you know, i think it's a little bit hard to say. i think that what's new is that political parties are too weak to rein in purely opportunistic leaders. and so what you're seeing now are a set of charismatic leaders who build their parties around themselves. and so in the past when parties were stronger, and leaders had to actually, in some sense, tow their own party lines, parties could call back the kind of leaders that did this sort of thing. now i think the parties are too weak and you're seeing this happening in lots of places so, so it does sound like we're in for more of this. i think we're in for more of

this and actually and with regard to victor urban, i don't see any way he can be taken out through peaceful transfers of power through elections is rig the system. so that's impossible. so the question is, what will ever bring victor or of and down, and this is where the fact that the you was come very close now to cutting hungary funds will really present probably or bonds most serious challenge was fascinating . thank you for outlining that plan. professor kim lane jeffery of princeton university. thank you. thank you. and that is nearly done, but the conversation continues online. you can find us on twitter. i've actively news, so i feel gail, a good day with

is the end of the pandemic in site. we show what it could look like, return to normal. and we visit those who are finding it difficult with success in our weekly coven, 19 special. next on d, w. into the conflict zone with sebastian.

little is known about the inner workings of the kremlin, especially with vladimir putin in power. but my guest this week, former prime minister because castiano what the, the early 2000. and he knows what from behind the closed door with the russian government a 60 minute on dw with i really haven't had ended go listening place of longing. the mediterranean sea, its waters connect people of many cultures, seen it almost rock and to far abdul karim drift along with exploring modern

lifestyles and mediterranean youth, where has history left its traces, reading legal hearing their dreams, ready to mean journey intended those sorts august 14th on the w o sewage is dirty dot interesting, and a potentially useful early warning system and a pandemic. a pilot project in germany is working out just how useful in india, the pandemic has led people to grow more of their food locally. quite well, think our teeth into that question later in this cove at 19 special but right now, come with us to the republic of congo where research is studying the lives of guerrillas in the current pandemic. there's a risk that.