Mikhail Barshchevsky: “In the USA, legal norms are observed from case to case”
The round table discussed the problems of detention of Russian citizens abroad and the issue of their extradition at the request of third states.
As the experts who took part in the round table noted, the detention of Russian citizens abroad is violated on all counts - from political to ideological. Since 2008, as noted by a member of the International Legal Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Andrey Danelyan, at the request of the United States, 50 Russian citizens were arrested. In 2020 alone, Russia sent 400 requests for the extradition of our citizens, of which only 12% were granted.
Chairman of the Public Council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation Anatoly Kucherena noted that most US court cases against Russian citizens are decided in the absence of the defendant, as happened with RIA FAN in the case with Bellingcat. Let us recall that in June 2020, a number of former and current FAN employees received threatening messages and offers of financial reward from Bellingcat reporters. The essence of the messages was that employees of the Patriot media holding were supposed to report facts about alleged interference in the US presidential election.
Plenipotentiary Representative of the Government of the Russian Federation in the highest courts, Honored Lawyer of the Russian Federation Mikhail Barshchevsky noted that there is “nothing like that” in considering the case outside the Russian Federation. Another issue is considering the case in the absence of one of the parties: the Amsterdam court did not even try to obtain evidence from the Russian FAN agency. “In the world today, legal norms are observed from time to time. The strong do not need the right, the strong do not benefit from the right. Law is what limits the strong and equalizes him with the weak,” the expert notes.
Also partner of the G3 consulting group Igor Eliseev agreed with the experts that in such cases it is necessary to take into account legal norms and the interests of both parties.
Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Andrey Isayev called the case against FAN “the method of work of Stalin’s troikas,” where the accused and defenders are not needed, the internal conviction that one of the parties is right is enough.
Earlier situation with Bellingcat commented also St. Petersburg businessman Yevgeny Prigogine: “FAN gave a comprehensive commentary on the non-compliance with legal standards that took place in the Amsterdam court. There is no doubt that Bellingcat published false data. There are no understatements here. There is one problem - foreign courts willingly accept claims, often quietly, against Russian companies, and Russian courts try to get rid of such claims. And this situation requires legislative adjustment. Russia is a country of honest people who are not ready for this kind of tricks of Western jurisprudence.”
In addition, the problem of protecting honor and dignity was discussed at the round table. A striking example is the case of businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who filed a lawsuit in the Lyublinsky District Court of Moscow against the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) Alexei Navalny and the host of the Navalny Live YouTube channel Vladimir Milov. Let us recall that the entrepreneur wants to receive 5 million rubles from each defendant, because he believes that the information disseminated by Navalny and Milov discredits his honor, dignity and business reputation.
As a result of the round table, experts came to the general opinion that the Russian Federation needs to change its strategy of interaction with foreign countries and, as Anatoly Kucherena noted, be more aggressive in providing legal assistance to our citizens.
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