Comment by the Information and Press Department on extraditing Russian citizen Andrei Nekrasov from Cyprus to Lithuania

We were disappointed to learn of the decision by the Republic of Cyprus authorities to extradite Russian citizen Andrei Nekrasov, who was recently arrested on the island under an Interpol warrant on extortion charges, to Vilnius. This decision was made despite Russia’s official request to return him to the country of citizenship.

One cannot but interpret these actions of Cypriot authorities as time-serving. They are detrimental to the rights and legitimate interests of the Russian Federation and do not reflect the level of relations between our two countries. The decision also violates legal norms, including the provisions of the bilateral treaty on legal assistance in civil and criminal cases.

We hope Lithuanian authorities will consider our appeal and legal arguments and will meet our request for the extradition of Andrei Nekrasov. That would be a purely legal, rather than politically motivated, decision on their part.

August 13, 2015