MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2021) Since 2008, Washington has been "hunting" for Russian citizens in third countries with the aim of their subsequent extradition to the United States, as the number of such cases has reached 50 and keeps growing, the Russian Foreign Ministry's Commissioner for Human Rights Grigory Lukyantsev said in an interview with Sputnik.
"The US is actively using the practice of hunting for our citizens abroad and arresting them in third countries at requests of US law enforcement agencies, as well as making attempts to extradite our citizens and bring them to justice in the US. Since 2008, more than 50 similar cases have been registered and, unfortunately, the number of such cases keeps increasing," Lukyantsev said.
When Russian citizens appear before the US justice system, they face an extremely strong pressure from US law enforcement agencies, trying to convince Russians to collaborate with the investigation and to admit their guilt in order to claim a certain mitigation of punishment, the diplomat noted.
"At the same time, many of our compatriots refuse to admit their guilt, since the accusations against them are unfounded," Lukyantsev added.
Methods of influence also include reluctance to timely provide medical care or refusal to provide any assistance at all, even to those suffering from serious chronic conditions, the diplomat continued.
Among the most egregious cases, Lukyantsev mentioned Konstantin Yaroshenko, Roman Seleznev, Viktor Bout and Maria Butina.
