Foreign Ministry issues fresh warning of US hunt for Russian citizens

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to all citizens about the threat of being detained or arrested in foreign countries at the request of US special services.

“American special services are continuing their de facto hunt for Russians all over the world,” reads the statement published on the ministry’s website on Friday. The Russian diplomats also gave several examples of such arbitrary detentions of Russian citizens that took place in Spain, Latvia, Canada and Greece.

“Sometimes these were actual abductions of our compatriots. This is what happened with Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was kidnapped in Liberia in 2010 and secretly taken to the United States in violation of Liberian and international laws. This also happened in 2014 with Roman Seleznyov, who was literally abducted in the Maldives and forcefully taken to American territory,” the statement reads.

The ministry also warned that after being handed over to the US justice system, Russian citizens often encounter extremely biased attitudes.

“Through various means, including direct threats, they attempt to coerce Russians into pleading guilty, despite the fact that the charges of them are far-fetched. Those who refuse get sentenced to extraordinarily long prison terms.”

The diplomats then urged all Russian citizens who plan to travel abroad to thoroughly calculate all the risks, especially in cases when they suspect that US law enforcement bodies could have some claims against them.

The Foreign Ministry has been issuing similar warnings on a regular basis since 2013, after the detention of Russian citizens in third countries at the request of United States became more frequent. Two of the most resonant cases – involving transport company-owner Viktor Bout and aircraft pilot Yaroshenko –resulted in long prison sentences. This is despite the fact that both men were convicted as a result of sting operations and the main argument of the prosecution was the testimony of undercover agents, not material evidence. Bout and Yaroshenko protested their innocence in court and continue to do so to this day.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a warning on Thursday, February 1 stating that the US intelligence services are "hunting" for Russian citizens abroad. The ministry's statement says that this recommendation was published "in connection with the threat of being detained and even arrested at the request of US law enforcement agencies in third countries."

"Despite our calls to establish cooperation between the competent authorities of Russia and the United States ... the US intelligence services continue to actually" hunt "for Russians around the world," the statement said.

"However, taking into account the above circumstances, we strongly recommend that Russian citizens, when planning their trips abroad, carefully weigh all the risks," the statement said.

Moscow and Washington are engaged in a lengthy diplomatic squabble, unfolding amid a scandal over alleged interference by Russia in the presidential elections in the US in 2016. At the end of 2016, the Obama administration ordered the dispatch of 35 Russian diplomats from the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin struck back last year, reacting to US sanctions by ordering the US to reduce its diplomatic mission to several hundred.

As stated in the statement published on Friday, February 2, from the beginning of 2017 "more than ten Russian citizens were arrested on requests from Washington abroad." The most famous detainee Russian citizen, who is imprisoned in the United States, is Viktor Bout, a defendant in the arms trade. He was arrested in 2008 in Thailand and extradited to the United States.

"After the extradition in the US, Russian citizens face a prejudiced attitude on the part of American" justice, "the statement says, where Bout is called a" Russian businessman. "

The US also issued a warning on travel to Russia. January 10, 2018 in the recommendations for travelers from the US State Department, American citizens were asked to review the possibility of travel to Russia because of the "terrorist" threats and the likelihood of harassment.