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Lawyer says US violated rules of search for Russian citizen detained in Armenia

According to media reports, Sergei Mironov, 30, an information technology expert, put on the international wanted list at the US request, was detained at Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport

© Ruslan Shamukov/TASS

MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. The search for Russian citizen Sergei Mironov who has been detained in Yerevan on suspicion of illegal trade in weapons was conducted by the American side with violations, so Mironov should be extradited to Russia, and not to the United States, the Russian citizen’s lawyer Karen Nersesyan said on the Rossiya 24 TV channel on Monday.

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"The American side and the Interpol infringed the elementary rules of the search for my client in Russia’s territory with the help of the Russian Interpol - this order was violated," he said. "I think that the Armenian justice and law enforcement bodies, because of these violations, must hand the Russian citizen over to Russia, and urge the American side to observe the procedure and contact Russia’s judiciary bodies and, naturally, Interpol."

It was reported earlier that a court meeting was planned for Monday on the issue of Mironov’s extradition to the United States. According to Nersesyan, the meeting’s time "has not been determined yet." "It may be held in the afternoon," he added.

The lawyer also said that the documents that will clarify "what the charges against him (Mironov) are and based on which evidence" should be presented to court.

According to media reports, Sergei Mironov, 30, an information technology expert, put on the international wanted list at the US request, was detained at Zvartnots International Airport of Yerevan. The American authorities suspect hum of illegal weapons trade.

Arrested at US request

Armenia’s police confirmed on Monday that Mironov was detained at the request of the American side.

"On August 26, at 16:20 pm (15:20 pm, Moscow time), officers of the main anti-organize crime department of the Armenian police and the Yerevan International Airport Zvarnots transit police detained at the airport Russian citizen Sergei Mironov, 30," the police report says. He "is internationally wanted by the US law enforcement agencies since March 2016 for crimes punishable under several articles of the Criminal Code" of that country, the police said. The charges are a preliminary consent to violate the law on weapons’ export, attempted violation of the law on weapons control, prior consent to money laundering and money laundering.

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