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Russia urges Spain to reconsider decision to extradite Russian national to US

The US authorities are accusing Vadim Polyakov who was detained near Barcelona on July 3, 2014 of participation in using the broken accounts scheme of the StubHub online ticket service

MOSCOW, March 20 /TASS/. Russia has urged Spain to reconsider its decision to extradite Russian national Vadim Polyakov to the United States where he can face politicized justice and be subject to physical pressure, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

"We are deeply concerned with Madrid’s decision to extradite Polyakov, who was arrested at US request in July 2014, to the United States," Konstantin Dolgov, the Russian Foreign Ministry Ombudsman for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, said.

"We are dealing with a new case of extraterritorial application of US legislation to a Russian national that is against international legal norms," the Russian diplomat adding that Washington was once again ignoring the 1999 Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty which provides for the mechanism of exchanging information about persons suspected of committing crimes.

"For our part, we are ready to continue giving consular and legal support to Polyakov and seek the observation of his legitimate rights and interests," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The US authorities are accusing Polyakov who was detained near Barcelona on July 3, 2014 of participation in using the broken accounts scheme of the StubHub website that sells tickets for various sport and musical events in North America. The United States has brought the same charges against another two Russians.