NEW YORK, December 10. /Corr. Ivan Sawyers/. The Prosecutor’s office for the southern district of the U.S. state of new York, on Wednesday asked the court not to overturn the conviction of a Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, does not take into account the uniqueness of this case and its impact on the relations between Moscow and Washington. This opinion was expressed in an interview with TASS the lawyer of the Russian citizen Alexei Tarasov.
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© ITAR-TASS
In the US the Prosecutor asked the court not to review the case of Russian citizen Konstantin Yaroshenko
“The Prosecutor’s response does not seem convincing, because it ignores perhaps the most significant in our appeal argument, – he said. We pointed mainly to the fact that the case Yaroshenko is unusual, it is extraordinary, it is that for the first time a Russian citizen has been kidnapped in a third country. He was kidnapped by American intelligence agencies, without execution of formal extradition, he was taken to the United States, subjected to cruel torture.”
“The case Yaroshenko qualitative impact on Russian-American relations, at least in the area of cooperation of law enforcement authorities, – said Tarasov. To analyze this case on boilerplate precedents by which to judge a man for robbing a store somewhere in new Jersey or anywhere else in the U.S., it is impossible. Should apply different standards”.
He recalled that the court of appeal, which was appealed to the protection, in 1974, examining the case “United States vs. Toscanino”, decided to reverse a guilty verdict against the defendant due to the fact that he was arrested on the territory of another state in violation of the law and tortured. The court found that the arrest could harm American interests and endanger American citizens.
A similar situation, according to Tarasova, and at the present time in regard to relations between Washington and Moscow. “The precedent of the 70’s very well justified, we believe that this gives sluchaynosti to insist that the court declined jurisdiction over a Russian pilot and closed the case, reversing the verdict,” the lawyer explained. He stressed that the Prosecutor’s office filed the answer is “absolutely not affect this international theme” and deterioration in Russian-American relations.
Protection may be required to answer more than two weeks
The lawyer said that the defence may need additional time to respond to the arguments of the prosecution. “We have a deadline of two weeks to respond, he said. – I will consult with representatives of the Embassy, with himself as Yaroshenko. Do not exclude the possibility that we will ask for additional time. However, this may not happen. Two weeks is very short to agree with the client the response body”.
On Wednesday, the Prosecutor’s office for the southern district of the U.S. state of new York has filed an answer to the petition of protection of Russians about the need for a new trial in the case. In document 30 sheets rejected all the arguments in favor of reconsideration of the criminal cases that had previously presented to the court in new York, Yaroshenko lawyers, as well as Russian Federation.
The Prosecutor’s office, in particular, argues that the conversion of Russia to the court, submitted in September this year in the form called in the USA “amicus curiae brief” (“argument a friend of the court”) was not necessary, and calls “correct” the judge’s decision not to consider the arguments of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, the notice on the petition of lawyers of the answer stated that the testimony of witnesses, presented by the lawyers, “do not add new facts in the case”. In particular, we are talking about the testimony of the officer of the Liberian security forces and personnel of this country that Yaroshenko was abducted and he was to use violence.
The Prosecutor’s office considers irrelevant and the arguments of the defense regarding the fact that a significant part of the evidence against Yaroshenko was collected on the territory of Ukraine illegally. The response also argued that the prosecution was withheld from the defense any materials related to the case.
Yaroshenko was convicted on 7 September 2011. In the U.S. he was taken from Liberia, where he was arrested on may 28, 2010. The undercover agents of the U.S. service on fight against drug trafficking allegedly caught the pilot of criminal intent on the transportation of large quantities of cocaine. This case was the first time that American intelligence agencies have seized on the territory of a third country of a Russian citizen and secretly brought it to the US. The Russian is serving a prison sentence at Fort Dix in new Jersey.
