Moscow lambastes Sweden for hosting Chechen separatist website
MOSCOW. Dec 24 (Interfax) - Moscow railed at Sweden on Monday for hosting a Chechen separatist website and for sheltering "persons who are accused in the Russian Federation of serious crimes."
"Russia has repeatedly called upon the Swedish government to take measures to ban the activities in that country of the Kavkaz Center website, a mouthpiece of the terrorist organization Caucasus Emirate. The website is on the consolidated list of the UN Security Council 1267/1989 Committee on sanctions against Al Qaeda and related individuals and entities. Nevertheless, none of the necessary steps has been taken so far," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
"The fact that the website has been broadcasting from outside Sweden since the summer of this year, as is being claimed in Stockholm, does not cancel Sweden's international legal commitment to issue a legal ban on the activities of Kavkaz Center on its territory under a decision by the UN sanctions committee," the ministry said.
"The legal functioning of terrorist and extremist organizations on Swedish territory is not limited to this. One remarkable example are the open activities in Sweden of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an organization that is banned as terrorist in Russia and as radical extremist in some of the European Union member countries such as Germany," it said.
"Recently, members of that group who have found shelter in Sweden tried to put up an unauthorized action outside the Russian Embassy building in Stockholm," the statement said.
"Swedish authorities have consistently refused to satisfy requests from Russian authorities for the extradition of one of the organizers of that action, E. R. Khamzin, arguing that the charges against him in Russia are politically motivated," it said.
"It has to be admitted that this conduct of the Swedish side represents nothing else than a double standards policy. Persons who are accused in the Russian Federation of serious crimes continue to feel comfortable on Swedish territory," the ministry said.
"The Russian Embassy in Sweden has presented the Swedish Ministry with a note that points out the impermissibility of tolerating extremist organizations and sentiments and calls upon the Swedish government to ensure security for Russian institutions and nationals on Swedish territory," it said.
"We expect an official reaction to this note from the Swedish side," the ministry said.