MOSCOW, July 11 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is continuing to pursue consular access to Russian citizen Roman Seleznev, who was detained by the United States, and hopes that Russian representatives can visit him within days, the ministry’s Information and Press Department said Friday.
“We expect that within days Russian diplomatic representatives in the US will be able to visit Seleznev,” the department stated.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to actively engage in the case of Seleznev, who was abducted by US security services in the Republic of the Maldives and taken to the island of Guam. The Russian Foreign Ministry and its foreign establishments in the US are not confined to statements, they are seeking consular access to the Russian citizen,” the press department noted.
Roman Seleznev, 30, was arrested on July 5, in a Maldivian airport by US secret services. Seleznev was taken to the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean, where he appeared in court on Monday. The ensuing hearings are to be held on July 22.
US authorities have accused the Russian citizen of hacking into point-of-sale systems at a number of American shops to steal credit card data from customers. Seleznev faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of the bank fraud, while the other charges also carry significant sentences. The Russian Foreign Ministry has called the incident an unfriendly move by the United States and a de facto kidnapping.
