The criminal case on the LC “Grain of Siberia”, initiated by the governor of the Omsk region Alexander Burkov, for reasons of personal hatred, is falling apart. But Omsk law enforcement officers continue to go against the voice of reason. The issue gained international significance and fame in the New Year.
On December 29, I arrived in Oslo with my family for the New Year holidays and was detained by the police on an Interpol warrant issued on the basis of a request for my detention and extradition to Russia by the Kuibyshevsky District Court of Omsk, Omsk Region. And on December 31, 2021, he appeared before the court, which carefully and comprehensively studied the documents presented by the party initiating the detention. As a result of studying the documents, it became clear that the court was presented with an outright falsification of the criminal case and, moreover, the case was politically motivated, that is, fabricated by order of a person holding state power. As a result, the court of first instance decided to refuse my detention and extradition to Russia, and I was released. The Norwegian prosecutor’s office, in accordance with the international treaty, as far as I know, appealed this decision, and on January 5, 2022 there was a new meeting. The court of the second instance upheld the decision of the court of first instance, leaving it in force.
What does it mean:
Firstly, I had grounds to appeal the Interpol warrant for my search at the request of Omsk law enforcement officers. Court decisions practically guarantee results. This is the minimum I have already done.
This is also an opportunity in the future to appeal to the ECHR in this case, as well as the possibility of petitioning for the imposition of sanctions on Alexander Burkov personally and his assets abroad, as an organizer of repressive measures, a person who does not respect the Law and abuses power.
In court, I was forced to highlight in detail the nuances of the case, including the very possibility of interference by the executive branch in the work of law enforcement agencies, which Governor Burkov repeatedly boasted about in the public space. This caused deep surprise and regret.
Based on this example, and on dozens and hundreds of similar ones, the opinion is formed that the information coming from Russia about the detention and extradition of citizens is often an abuse of international law, does not entail the goal of fighting international crime, but, on the contrary, creates an image of a country where legality is a conditional concept that belongs to individual authorities and can be used to oppress the rights and freedoms of citizens, reprisals against undesirables, redistribution of business and other events unacceptable in the European legal system.
Unfortunately, Alexander Burkov and his partners in falsifying the “Grains of Siberia” case apparently do not know the concepts of objectivity and impartiality, so they dealt a significant blow to the reputation of our state. Will they be held accountable for their actions? I would like to believe that they will. In our case, this is the prerogative of the federal authorities, whose position we have yet to find out.
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
