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Russian diplomats in US follow situation of Russian citizen extradited from Spain

Levashov was detained in Barcelona, Spain, in April 2017 at Washington’s request

Pyotr Levashov EPA/LUCA PIERGIOVANNI/POOL

Pyotr Levashov

© EPA/LUCA PIERGIOVANNI/POOL

NEW YORK, February 7. /TASS/. Russian diplomatic missions in the United States follow the situation surrounding Russian citizen Pyotr Levashov, extradited from Spain to the United States, the Russian Embassy’s press service said on Tuesday.

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A consular group of the Russian Consulate General in New York has headed to the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, in order to visit Levashov in a local prison and render all required consular assistance, the statement reads.

The Russian Embassy in Washington has requested the US Department of State to provide consular access to the Russian citizen and ensure that he is kept in normal conditions.

Levashov was detained in Barcelona, Spain, in April 2017 at Washington’s request. In October 2017, a Spanish court agreed to extradite detained him to the US.

The US authorities accuse him of cyberfraud, creating malware and spamming. According to US claims, the Russian citizen has played a role in creating the Kelihos network of infected computers, controlled by hackers who used it for harmful activities such as data collection and spamming.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said last October that Russia opposes extradition of Russians to foreign states, including the US. He was commenting on the decision to extradite Levashov and another Russian, Alexander Vinnik, who was detained in Greece.

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