MOSCOW, November 5 /TASS/. Moscow has pledged to continue protecting the rights and legitimate interests of Russian national Vladimir Drinkman whom the Dutch authorities are planning to extradite to the United States on charges of complicity to cyber swindling, Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry ombudsman for human rights, democracy and the rule-of-law, said.
“According to the incoming reports, the Dutch authorities are planning to extradite Russian citizen Vladimir Drinkman who was detained in Amsterdam on June 28, 2012 at the FBI request on suspicion of complicity to cyber crimes,” Dolgov wrote in a commentary published on Wednesday.
“We will continue seeking the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of /Vladimir/ Drinkman who is a citizen of Russia,” the Russian diplomat stressed.
According to Dolgov, Russians extradited to the United States from third countries are likely to face a politicized and biased approach of the U.S. judicial authorities. The methods of “justice” applied in cases of Viktor Bout, Konstantin Yaroshenko, Roman Seleznyov and others are additional proof of that.
“In this context, the decision on Vladimir Drinkman made in The Hague cannot be regarded otherwise than an unfriendly step,” Dolgov said.
“We would like to confirm once again that Washington’s pernicious practice of organizing a hunt on Russian nationals whom the United States suspects of wrongdoing is unacceptable. The Russian side has told its U.S. partners many times that civilized methods based on respect of international law and the vast legal foundation of Russian-American relations, including the 1999 Russian-American Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, should be applied in such matters,” Dolgov wrote.