MOSCOW, June 20. /TASS/. Over 70 Russian citizens have been arrested at the request of US law enforcement agencies in third countries since 2008, the Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries said in a joint report on the human rights situation in certain countries.

"Guided by the principle of extraterritoriality of American justice, the United States ‘hunts down’ citizens of sovereign states around the world, in flagrant violation of relevant international legal bilateral agreements, flouting the norms of national legislation of these states.

The unacceptable practice of arresting Russian citizens in third countries at the request of United States law enforcement agencies continues. Since 2008, more than 70 such cases have been recorded," the joint report says. The report emphasizes that Russian diplomats in these circumstances do their best to help their compatriots. It also lists some of the Russian citizens arrested in this illegal way, most of the cases occurring in Western countries.

"The Americans are 'hunting' not only Russians, but also citizens of other countries, who are often held without trial in notorious secret CIA prisons (their existence was recognized back in 2006 by [former US President] George W. Bush Jr.), where they are subjected to torture and humiliation," the Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries concluded.