Австрийская Республика
Russian Ambassador to Austria Sergey Nechayev Replies to Questions from ITAR-TASS News Agency Concerning the Detention of a Russian Citizen at the Airport of Vienna
Russian Ambassador to Austria Sergey Nechayev Replies to Questions from ITAR-TASS News Agency Concerning the Detention
of a Russian Citizen at the Airport of Vienna
Question: How can you comment on the Russian citizen's detention?
Answer: Yes, indeed, Austrian law enforcement agencies arrested the Russian citizen, who had been incriminated of participation in the events in Vilnius, the then capital of the Lithuanian SSR, in January 1991, in the Transit-Zone at Vienna's Schwechat airport on July 14 under a Lithuanian European arrest warrant. When considering this essentially farfetched warrant the Austrian justice showed high professionalism and impartiality and prevented Austria from being dragged into the dirty political intrigues of the mala fide politicians of a third country who want to gain political mileage by settling scores with their own historical past. I'm sure this isn't the best way to assert the new state identity. After carefully studying the so called "grounds" submitted by Lithuania, Austrian judicial bodies found them unconvincing, unspecific and politicized. Therefore an objective legal decision was taken permitting Mikhail Golovatov to leave Austria on July 15 already.
Question: Did Russia exercise political pressure on Vienna in settling this matter?
Answer: Russia does not use in principle this kind of methods, all the more so if at issue is a country friendly to us. The Austrian colleagues were guided solely by law, unlike the Lithuanian colleagues, who instead of legal levers resorted to using political channels up to and including the foreign minister's intervention. It is obvious that Lithuania has a complex and long road to go before it reaches the level of legal culture of the "old Europeans," in particular Austria.
Question: What did the Russian Embassy do in the circumstances?
Answer: Every state is duty bound to protect the interests of its citizens. This case wasn't an exception. Consular support and a professional lawyer's services were made available to Mikhail Golovatov. At the same time I must note that the Austrian security officers behaved in an exceptionally civil manner.
July 19, 2011