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Russian embassy keeps eye on detention of Russian citizen on Finnish border

The Russian citizen, identified as Shaldyrvan, was detained on the Russian-Finnish border on the suspicion hiding a large amount of stolen property

MOSCOW, August 23 (Itar-Tass) —— The Russian embassy in Helsinki is closely monitoring the detention of a Russian citizen on the Finnish border with the aim of ensuring the observance of his rights, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

“According to information available at this point, the Russian citizen, identified as Shaldyrvan, was detained on the Russian-Finnish border on the suspicion hiding a large amount of stolen property,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “In view of the seriousness of the charges the Finnish authorities remanded him in custody. The police department of the Kymenlaakso Region, Kotka is conducting the investigation.”

“The arrested man enjoys the services of a free lawyer,” the Foreign Ministry said. “At present question is considered of replacing him with another lawyer the relatives of the detainee have hired.”

“The Russian embassy in Finland has followed developments in Shaldyrvan’s case starting from the moment it received the official notification of his detention from the Kotka police force on July 10, and it has kept in touch with the detainee and with his current lawyer,” the Foreign Ministry said.

“In its reply to the embassy’s query, received on August 9, the police said that Shaldyrvan’s contacts with the outside world were limited in the interests of the investigation, however, under the custodial rules he can make phone calls to his wife and mother,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

When he complained about his health, Shaldyrvan was examined in a local hospital and a course of medical treatment was prescribed. On August 7 he was examined again and the course of treatment prolonged.

“Over the past few days he has been in satisfactory condition. When contacted by the embassy officials, Shaldyrvan made no complaints about his conditions.

“The lawyer believes the active phase of the investigation is about to end. The evidence gathered by the police will be handed over to the prosecutor’s office for making a decision whether a criminal case should be launched,” the Foreign Ministry said. The detainee’s wife, Lukyanenko has been thoroughly briefed on progress in the case.”

“The Russian embassy in Helsinki keeps following progress in Shaldyrvan’s case with the aim to ensure the observance of his rights as a Russian citizen during preliminary investigation and, if need be, in court,” the ministry said.