Russia to keep insisting on Browder's prosecution - National Central Bureau of Interpol head
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - Russia will keep working on the prosecution of Hermitage Capital founder and financier William Browder although the Interpol search for him has been blocked, the head of the Russian National Central Bureau of Interpol, Police Maj. Gen. Alexander Prokopchuk, told Interfax.
"We believe that the person, who is charged with committing grave felonies on the territory of Russia, has been excluded from the Interpol wanted list without a good reason. We will continue to take lawful efforts towards the prosecution of Browder," Prokopchuk said.
He noted that the Russian law enforcement authorities had repeatedly send documents evidencing Browder's involvement in criminal offenses committed in Russia to the Interpol General Secretariat.
"Nonetheless, the Interpol search for this fugitive has been blocked," he said.
Denials of Russia's requests for the international search for fugitives are frequently related to "the anti-Russian campaign carried out in a number of foreign countries and the related negative information backdrop," Prokopchuk said.
"Employees of the General Secretariat are experiencing the pressure of circumstances and have to protect themselves from possible accusations of being too favorably disposed towards Russia," he said.
"Russia's 'political discrimination' on the global stage is being used by lawyers, and even suspects themselves often inform the Interpol General Secretariat about the alleged political motivation behind their criminal cases," Prokopchuk said.
The General Secretariat's decisions to stop the search for persons who are granted the refugee status abroad are a separate matter, he said.
"Russian law enforcement agencies have grounds to believe that criminal elements, who have committed offenses and are trying to avoid liability, might abuse of this human rights mechanism," Prokopchuk said.