The Russian Foreign Ministry is urging the US to stop harassing Russian MP’s son, Roman Seleznyov, who is now being held in Guam on cyber-fraud charges, and calls for the “observance of his rights,” including the “right to medical care.”
"We continue to demand Washington to immediately release
Roman Seleznyov, who was forcibly flown out the Republic of
Maldives to the US island of Guam on July 5,” the Russian
Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.
One of the biggest concerns raised by the ministry is the lack of
medical attention for Seleznyov.
“Roman Seleznyov was seriously injured in a terrorist attack
in 2011 [in Marrakech, Morocco],” and he is being denied
necessary medicine. “As a result his health and even his life are
in danger.”
Roman’s father, prominent Russian MP Valery Seleznyov, told a
news conference on Friday that his son will die without his
medicine.
"There are no medical services there at all, treatment is not
available," Seleznyov said. "He will die."
Don Hall, a US Marshals Service spokesman in Saipan, Northern
Mariana Islands, said Guam authorities have staff to handle
medical issues, AP reported. "The U.S. Marshals Service is
adamant about ensuring that detainees receive all necessary
medical care and prescribed medication," he said.
The ministry said new “shocking” details came to light
about Seleznyov’s kidnapping, after a telephone conversation with
the arrested Russian citizen.
Seleznyov, 30, was detained earlier this week at Male
international airport, as he was about to board a flight to
Moscow.
As Seleznyov was going through airport security, he was
approached and escorted to another room for further verification,
the ministry’s statement said. Three US intelligence officers
immediately confronted him, arrested him roughly, handcuffed him
and spirited him away on a private plane.
“No legal procedures involving local authorities required for
extradition were observed,” the ministry stated.
“The Russian citizen was literally kidnapped, which is a
flagrant violation of the laws of any civilized state as well as
international law,” the ministry said.
Earlier this week, the Russian ministry slammed his detention as
“a de-facto kidnapping.”
Moscow considers the kidnapping "a new hostile move by
Washington,” and accused the US of ignoring proper procedure
in dealing with foreign nationals suspected of crimes.
“The same happened to Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko,
who were forced to go to the US from third countries and
convicted on dubious charges.”
The US Department of Justice and US Secret Service announced on
Monday that Roman Seleznyov was indicted on charges including
identity theft, bank fraud, illegally accessing information on
protected computers and trafficking in unauthorized access
devices.
He is charged with stealing and selling US citizens’ credit card
data between 2009 and 2011 and may face up to 30 years in prison
if found guilty.
Seleznyov appeared in court on Monday, and will be held in
custody until his next hearing.