Abroad, Russophobia has been replaced by direct persecution of Russian citizens - Vyshinsky

In the world, Russophobia is being replaced by targeted and large-scale persecution of Russian citizens abroad, and therefore it is necessary to create mechanisms to provide them with “first legal aid” and support in the future.

This was stated during the round table by the Executive Director of the Rossiya Segodnya MIA, member of the Human Rights Council, Kirill Vyshinsky, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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“It seems to me that we are slowly moving past Russophobia. We are moving on to some other phenomenon in the world, which is simply associated with the beginning of the persecution of Russian citizens.

If it is clear that economic sanctions have not produced much results, and this is already clear, then they begin, in simple terms, to put pressure on Russian citizens. And not only citizens of the Russian Federation, but also Russia.

And we need to approach this reality somehow differently. Because we are not talking about phobias, not about neglect, not about fear of Russians, but about the beginning of large-scale persecution.

It’s just obvious, because if you’re Russian, it’s suspicious, if you’re a Russian citizen, you’re a potential criminal, and if you’re, say, a Russian journalist or Russian public figure, then you’re already just a criminal in many countries, by definition, as evidenced by practice ", - he said.

According to the journalist, Russia needs to create appropriate mechanisms to support citizens in trouble.

“What can and should be done in this sense? It is clear that this policy is different in the neighboring countries, in the CIS, in the countries of the “third world”, and in the countries of the “golden billion”. And you need to look for different tools for reacting to these manifestations.

But the basic approach, it seems to me, is simple - it is necessary to create a mechanism to protect our citizens. Insurers cannot pay for lawyers, but some kind of first legal assistance is really important, which is necessary in the first hours or days of being or going to jail.

This is very important, because they slip papers to a person - if he does not know the language and local legislation, he signs something, gives some testimony... The idea of ​​first legal aid insurance is very important.

The second part of the task is to create a general mechanism to support people who find themselves in such a situation, be it a foundation or a private partnership. This should have been done yesterday, because practice shows that there is no longer Russophobia, but there is persecution. Russophobia existed yesterday, but today it is persecution,” Vyshinsky added.

He proposed adopting appropriate changes to the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as starting to initiate criminal cases against foreign Russophobic judges in the Investigative Committee, which should make them think.

In turn, Alexander Malkevich, a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, spoke about the need to create appropriate organizations that will provide material and legal assistance to Russian citizens in trouble.

“It seems to me that there is a need to create some kind of state fund or organization that could provide emergency support to Russians who get into trouble abroad, including emergency legal services. Because the majority of our citizens are taken by surprise and do not understand what to do and who to contact.

And those lawyers who then appear put forward absolutely exorbitant prices, and the person finds himself between a rock and a hard place.

The second point is that we must understand that the information war and simply pressure against our country have not yet reached the lowest point, and it will only get worse. And any citizen of our country, while abroad, can then become a hostage for some real small violation, or simply invented and made up out of thin air.

Because any citizen, in the opinion of the West, is potentially ready to interfere in elections in any territory, even if he is there as a tourist passing through for one day,” he said, adding about the need to create a reminder with first aid numbers where to contact.