Moscow has no proof Russian citizen extradited from Lithuania to U.S. is guilty - diplomat
MOSCOW. Aug 29 (Interfax) - Washington has not provided Moscow with any convincing proof of the guilt of Russian citizen Dmitry Ustinov, who was extradited from Lithuania to the United States on August 27, Russian Foreign Ministry Human Rights Commissioner Konstantin Dolgov said.
"The U.S. has not provided any convincing proof of offences allegedly committed by Ustinov," Dolgov tweeted on Thursday.
"Moreover, the U.S. has ignored the special bilateral agreement on mutual assistance in criminal cases of 1999," the diplomat said.
The ruling of a Lithuanian court to extradite Ustinov to the U.S. is very regrettable, Dolgov said.
"Lithuania has taken the lead from its U.S. partners," he said.
Russia will continue pursuing the return of Ustinov to his homeland and Moscow "is absolutely opposed to the practice of trafficking Russian citizens from third countries continuing," the diplomat said.
Ustinov was charged in the U.S. on March 25. He is suspected of exporting arms listed as weapons in the U.S. and is facing at least 20 years in prison there.
Ustinov was detained at Vilnius airport on April 15.
A Lithuanian appeals court ruled on August 14 to extradite Ustinov to the U.S., having rejected a complaint by the defense. The court ruling on the extradition was final and could not be appealed.
Russia considers the ruling of the Lithuanian appeals court to extradite Ustinov to the U.S. over dubious accusations of illegal trade in products with dual purposes to be unacceptable and groundless, Dolgov has said.
