So there are currently discussions between Russia and the US about some possible prisoner exchange to release US citizens Griner and Whelan from Russia. Apartently Russia made a request (through inofficial channels) that they would like to get Vadim Krasikov in return (source). Krasikov is a Russian citizen legally convicted and sentenced in Germany for a murder he committed in Germany.
Question: If the German government were interested in freeing Krasikov and sending him to Russia, would they be able to do so?
As there is independence of the judiciary from the government, the government can't just randomly revoke prison sentences becauses it wants to. There may be some rules for granting a pardon but I don't know whether they could be applied here? As Krasikov is not a German citizen, there may be other possibilities as well? So could the German government decide to free Krasikov or is that not within their legal means?
Note that discussions on whether the German government should or should not do that are speculation that I'm not interested in and would be opinion based.
