Over 60 Russians 'Held Hostage' in US, Arrested on False Charges, Deputy Foreign Minister Says
The United States is practically holding over 60 Russians hostage by arresting people on false charges and sentencing them to dozens of years in prison, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin told Sputnik on Tuesday. 💬 "The US authorities have been literally hunting Russians across the globe especially in countries that have bilateral treaties on extradition with the US, seeking the arrest of our citizens on false charges... The overall number of Russian citizens basically held hostage exceeds 60," the deputy minister said. ● Vershinin said that US courts sentence Russians to dozens of years in prison, with the tendency becoming even stronger under the current US administration amid rising political tensions between the two countries. The senior Russian diplomat also urged Russian people to weigh up the risks they could face when traveling to unfriendly countries if there is even the "slightest suspicion" that they could be of specific interest to US secret services and law enforcement as Russians are presumed guilty in this country.