Belarus did not risk extraditing a Russian citizen to the Americans
An employee of the Internet Research Agency, Russian citizen Anna Bogacheva, detained in Minsk at the request of the United States on October 13, is now at large.
The Russian Embassy in Belarus reported this on its official Twitter account, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Earlier, the detainee's lawyer told the media that at the time of her arrest her husband and small child were with her. The family was heading on vacation.
In March 2018, the US Treasury included Bogacheva on the sanctions list along with 12 other Russian citizens who are considered in Washington to be involved in election interference.
The very fact of the detention of a Russian citizen in an ally country caused a wave of indignation. In order to bring her down, pro-government Belarusian political scientist Alexey Dzermant assured that the law enforcement agencies of Belarus were obliged to react, so Bogacheva received a request through Interpol.
“Belarus has obligations in this international police organization, as well as a bilateral agreement with the United States on legal assistance. The Russian woman probably checked into the hotel, presented her passport, and the data is automatically transferred to the police department. But it should have been immediately reported to the Russian embassy and the issue most likely would have been resolved. But there was a leak to the media so that the American side would know about it, and Minsk would be put in an awkward position,” Dzermant wrote in his Telegram channel.
Opposition observer Anton Shraibman complained that Minsk did not hand over the Russian woman to the FBI, missing the opportunity to lift American sanctions.
“To do the opposite, to extradite her to the United States, as blogger Lapshin was once extradited to Azerbaijan with a Russian passport, and then say “sorry, we have an agreement,” would be such a daring move for Minsk that my imagination does not turn in this direction. On the other hand, such a gesture could lift American sanctions once or twice. But winter is coming, and with it gas and oil negotiations. And not yet with Washington. So it’s unlikely,” Shreibman wrote in his telegram channel.
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