Comment by Foreign Ministry Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov on the extradition of Russian citizen Vladimir Drinkman from the Netherlands to the United States
The decision by the Dutch authorities to extradite Russian citizen Vladimir Drinkman, who had been under arrest since June 2012, to the United States following a request from the FBI is a matter of grave concern. The Netherlands has regrettably failed to heed our argument regarding the extradition of Vladimir Drinkman to Russia per the request of Russia's General Prosecutor's Office. Numerous requests have been made to this effect. The Netherlands also failed to accede to the arguments put forward by Mr. Drinkman's defence, which maintained that the case was politically motivated and which drew the attention of the Dutch authorities to the violation of a number of articles of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in connection with the decision to hand over a Russian citizen to the United States. Russia would also like to point out that Mr. Drinkman did not face any claims from Dutch law enforcement agencies.
Washington persists in its aggressive practice of applying US law outside its territory to Russian citizens without providing evidence to support the accusations against them. This tramples international law, runs counter to the Russia-US Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, and inflicts additional serious damage on Russia-US relations, which are already strained.
If history is any guide, in the US, Russian citizens face biased local judicial bodies, manifest abuse of the presumption of innocence and tampering with evidence during pre-trial investigation, which results in unjust verdicts.
We will continue providing Mr. Drinkman, as a Russian national, any necessary consular and legal assistance. We request that the Unites States rigorously respect his rights, including the right to due process, and legitimate interests. We will strive to ensure that our compatriot returns to Russia as soon as possible.
