Foreign Minister, Attorney General depart to Colombo to meet with Russian officials

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon and Attorney General Mohamed Anil have departed to Colombo, Sri Lanka, to discuss the arrest of Russian hacker Roman Valerevich Seleznev in the Maldives.

Sources have told Sun Online that the Minister and the Attorney General departed to Colombo last night, on Emirates.

During the visit, they will meet with senior officials of the Russian Embassy in Colombo and share information related to Seleznev’s arrest.

A spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in Colombo said on Wednesday that the apprehension of Seleznev was a law enforcement action based solely on law enforcement considerations by Maldivian authorities.

“The indictment in this case was returned on March 2011, and thus long predates any current issues involving Russia and the United States. It has nothing to do with any of those issues. Nor was this a ‘kidnapping' or in any way illegal,” said the U.S. Embassy spokesperson.

The spokesperson also said that Seleznev was arrested following his expulsion from another country, acting under its own laws, and that he was advised of his rights and given consular notification.

Seleznev, the son of Russian Member of Parliament, was arrested on 5 July at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) in the Maldives. Russian paper RT has reported that he was put on a flight to Guam, a U.S. territory in the western Pacific ocean.

The Russian government has said that it considers Seleznev’s arrest as “a new hostile move by Washington”, and has accused the U.S. of ignoring proper procedure in dealing with foreign nationals suspected of crimes.

Moscow has also demanded that the Maldives government provides necessary explanations for Seleznev’s arrest.

A team of Maldivian government officials also visited the Russian Embassy in Colombo yesterday, and “explained the situation regarding sending the Russian national from the Maldives in response to an Interpol Red Notice”.

This meeting was attended by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Fathimath Inaya, Maldivian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Zahiya Zareer, Deputy Attorney General Ahmed Usham, and Chief Superintendent of Maldives Police Service Mohamed Riyaz.