MADRID, January 19. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Madrid is in contact with Spanish law enforcement officials to protect the interests of Russian citizen Vladislav Lisov, who was detained at the request of the United States, the diplomatic mission told TASS on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, RT reported, citing the Russian citizen’s wife, that Lisov was apprehended at Barcelona Airport on January 13 at the request of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Interpol. Lisov, a citizen of the southern Russian city of Taganrog, is a programmer who is suspected of hacker attacks.

"The Spanish authorities officially notified the embassy about the detention," the embassy said. "After receiving the necessary information, the embassy’s staff members and the Russian consulate-general in Barcelona established contact with representatives from Spain’s law enforcement to protect interests of the Russian citizen and provide him with the necessary consular support."

"The embassy has also sent a request to the competent Spanish bodies in line with the procedures on requesting the reasons and details for the Russian citizen’s detention," it said. Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, Konstantin Dolgov, said earlier in the day that Moscow was carefully monitoring the situation. The diplomat said the Russian consulate-general in Barcelona was notified on January 14 that Lisov had been detained by Spanish authorities the day before and was "accused by the US of "fraud using of electronic means."

The Russian citizen is now in a pre-trial detention center in Barcelona.