A US Congressman has warned that the deal to secure the release of a number of people held in prison in Russia has a "downside" despite being the "right deal".
That downside is that "Russian prisoners. Truly bad people. Convicted of serious crimes" were released back to Russia, Brendan Boyle said.
One of those returned to Russia as part of the prisoner swap is Vadim Krasikov, a colonel in Russia's FSB intelligence service, who was convicted of murdering an exiled dissident in Berlin, the German government has said.
US President Joe Biden expressed gratitude to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who made the politically difficult choice to release Krasikov.
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Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Boyle, a Philadelphia-based Democrat, said while there is "much joy" the deal was "not an even trade" because innocent Americans were traded for Russians who, he said, were "not innocent" and "convicted of serious crimes".
Mr Boyle said Irish citizen Paul Whelan "appears to be in quite good condition" like the others released and returned to the US.
Mr Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive - with Irish, Canadian and US passports - was jailed in Russia for espionage. He was arrested in 2018 at a friend's wedding.
In 2020 he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The US classified Mr Whelan as "wrongfully detained".
"He appears to be in quite good condition. Actually, all of the freed American hostages, as well as Mr Whelan, who has both American and Irish citizenship, are included in that group.
"It's obviously not an even trade, given that these are completely innocent people, and the Russians, who [Vladimir] Putin got in return, are not innocent people."
"Nonetheless, that doesn't do anything to diminish the joy that I feel in my heart and that a lot of us feel over the last 24 hours since the news broke," said Congressman Boyle.
Mr Boyle, who represents a district in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has worked to secure journalist Evan Gershkovich’s release on behalf of his parents who are his constituents.
The Wall Street Journal reporter was detained in March 2023 and sentenced in July to 16 years in prison on spying charges.
"Evan Gershkovich who was one of the hostages, and one of those deemed wrongfully detained ... his parents and sister are constituents of mine in Philadelphia.
"There's a whole process in order to get the legal designation in the US of quote, 'wrongfully detained'. And so, we went through that process. I advocated for them. Evan was deemed 'wrongfully detained' and it's really just been a roller coaster," said the Congressman.
Mr Boyle added that conditions endured by Mr Whelan and Mr Gershkovich behind bars in Russia would emerge over coming days.
"I think it's safe to say it was not exactly a pleasure cruise. They were kept separately, so one situation might not be the same as other prisoners or hostages. But I think that in the days ahead, we will learn more about what exactly each of them as individuals endured," he said.
Asked about the release of Krasikov from Germany, Mr Boyle acknowledged the role of other countries in the release deal.
"I have to give credit to our many allies who, as part of this deal, stepped up and released Russian prisoners. Truly bad people. Convicted of serious crimes, it shows you the importance of having allies in the world. It shows you why the United States needs allies."
Also involved in the deal were Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus. Turkey coordinated the exchange.
Mr Boyle said the deal was not "a 100% positive development".
"I'm happy it happened. I think this is the right deal, but there is a downside and that is the sort of people that we had to release back to Russia."
Read more: US reporter, Irish citizen released in biggest prisoner swap since Cold War
However, Congressman Boyle added the "fact that these individuals had been flagged" makes it "quite unlikely that they would attempt to reappear in Western countries again ... but we do run that risk."
The deal between Russia and the US, Germany and the three other European Countries, saw 24 prisoners freed, making it one of the largest prisoner exchanges in modern history.
