Trump administration pushes Kremlin for release of religious and political prisoners

The Trump administration on Monday pressed Moscow to release political and religious prisoners, saying that the Kremlin was reverting to “old Soviet practices” to take rights away from prisoners, according to The Associated Press.

“The Russian people, like people everywhere, deserve equal treatment under the law and the ability to exercise their rights without fear of retribution,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. 

{mosads}

Nauert said Washington would call on its counterparts in Moscow to stop using its justice system to “suppress dissent and peaceful religious practice.”

The State Department, citing human rights organizations, said the number of political and religious prisoners was now over 150. 

A State Department official told the AP that the U.S. has seen the number of political prisoners increase threefold since 2014. 

The department cited a series of cases, including four Ukrainians on a hunger strike and detained Jehovah’s Witness Dennis Christensen.

Christensen’s trial began on April 23. 

The development comes after President Trump floated the idea of readmitting Russia into the Group of Seven (G-7) earlier this month, even though Russia’s membership was suspended in 2014 after its annexation of Crimea.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman was working to set up a White House meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.