MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russian citizen Roman Seleznev’s court hearing on the island of Guam has been rescheduled due to bad weather, the court’s representatives said Wednesday.
The court is closed because of a storm. A new trial date has not yet been announced.
Seleznev is charged with fraud and stealing credit card and personal information of US citizens. He denied the allegations when detained in the Maldives by the US authorities.
Seleznev’s defense states that he was taken in custody in the Maldives in violation of the US and international law, which means the court has no jurisdiction over this case.
The prosecution disagrees and says Seleznev was arrested in Guam, but does not explain how he got there from the Maldives.
The prosecution also has come forward with the US Supreme Court’s 1886 ruling, according to which a person’s abduction does not lift the person’s charges and does not preclude the court from having a trial. The prosecution also requires the transfer of the case to the Washington State Court.
Moscow regards Seleznev’s arrest as “abduction” and deems it an unfriendly act.
Seleznev was arrested on July 5 in the Maldives and taken to a prison in Guam, a US island in the Pacific. Prisons in Guam are known for their poor conditions, being overcrowded and understaffed. The inmate population gets into frequent fights with each other, which raises concerns over Seleznev’s safety there.
