Russia Eyes Sheltering Compatriots Convicted Abroad Inside Embassies - Senior Lawmaker

Russia Eyes Sheltering Compatriots Convicted Abroad Inside Embassies - Senior Lawmaker

Russia may regularly resort to sheltering Russian citizens convicted abroad inside embassies, like this happened with Marsha Lazareva in Kuwait, Andrei Klimov, the deputy chair of the upper house's Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with Sputnik

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2019) Russia may regularly resort to sheltering Russian citizens convicted abroad inside embassies, like this happened with Marsha Lazareva in Kuwait, Andrei Klimov, the deputy chair of the upper house's Committee on Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with Sputnik.

Kuwaiti criminal court sentenced Russia-born businesswoman Lazareva to 15 years in prison on charges of embezzling funds of the Kuwait Ports Authority on November 11. She sheltered herself inside the Russian embassy before the announcement of the verdict and remained there after it.

"A convicted Russian has recently found shelter in the Russian embassy in Kuwait. This is an unprecedented case, and I do not rule out that this practice may repeat," Klimov said.

The lawmaker noted that Russia should protect legitimate interests of its citizens using all the possible legal mechanisms. Meanwhile, the country cannot follow Washington's example and start "fishing for" foreign citizens in Russia, Klimov stressed amid increasing frequency of Russian citizens' detentions abroad.

"But we cannot fail to take into consideration all these factors in the context of developing these of those bilateral relations. And I believe we should work even more actively and efficiently on this. We have the necessary instruments, and we should embrace them better," Klimov added.

There are suggestions to create a special foundation that could provide assistance to Russians arrested abroad, Klimov announced.

Lazareva used to serve as the vice-chairman of the KGL Investment company, managing The Port Fund, whose investors included the Kuwait Ports Authority and the Kuwait Public Institution for Social Security. She was arrested in November 2017 and later sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment with hard labor after being found guilty of embezzlement during the construction of a port hub. She was released on bail on June 13 on an appeal by her lawyers.

The Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry has repeatedly cited violations that the Kuwaiti court has committed in Lazareva's case, namely, by banning her defense from questioning witnesses and by distorting the defense's testimony in protocols of the hearings. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also advocated for securing Lazareva's rights.