In Spain, Russian woman Olesya Krasilova was detained, who was in the country as part of an official delegation subordinate to the Rosselkhoznadzor organization. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the police stopped a woman at the airport.

“On February 14, when departing from Tenerife South Airport (Tenerife Island, the Canary Islands autonomous community, the Kingdom of Spain), Spanish police detained a citizen of the Russian Federation O. Krasilova, an employee of the All-Russian Plant Quarantine Center subordinate to the Rosselkhoznadzor, who arrived in Spain in short-term business trip as part of an official delegation, ”the diplomatic service said.

The Ministry indicates that the Spanish authorities decided to place the Russian woman in custody. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she is in one of the penitentiary institutions of the island of Tenerife, and the case materials are referred to the court.

The Foreign Ministry noted that the detained Russian woman was visited by diplomats. She was given warm clothes and personal hygiene products. The situation is under the scrutiny of the Russian Embassy in Spain, the ministry said.

The Rosselkhoznadzor also confirmed that in Spain Krasilova was part of the official delegation. The Russian woman took part in the group of experts of the European and Mediterranean Organization for Plant Quarantine and Plant Protection (EPPO) on phytosanitary measures for potatoes.

According to service representative Yulia Melano, the Russian side did not receive any notifications or requests that Krasilova was wanted. “To date, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Rosselkhoznadzor have used all possible channels to clarify the situation and provide assistance to Oles Krasilova. An official response from the Spanish side has not yet been received, ”she added.

The Foreign Ministry also does not exclude the possible interest of US law enforcement agencies in the Russian woman. At the time of publication, the agency did not have accurate information about the request of the American side to detain Krasilova.

“According to unofficial information we have, Krasilova’s placement in custody may be due to a certain appeal from the American side. If so, there is a new case of continued US authorities' unacceptable practice of "hunting" for Russian citizens around the world. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly issued warnings about the dangers and risks associated with similar actions by the American intelligence services, ”the ministry said in a statement.

According to human rights activist Alexander Ionov, Krasilova was detained at the request of the United States on charges of transferring biometrics to third parties. Ionov believes that a woman can be extradited to the United States, where she faces a prison sentence of up to life.

As RT's sister Elena Krasilova told RT, after the arrest, Olesya did not get in touch for three days. Later, a colleague of the Russian woman spoke about what happened, after which information about this was conveyed to Russian diplomats.

“Neither we, nor her fellow colleagues, think that she could have any information. She worked as a simple clerk for Americans, mainly in the visa department with refugees, ”Elena Krasilova explained to RT.

She clarified that her sister lived in Moscow in 2008, having bought an apartment on a mortgage. According to relatives, the detained Russian woman does not have a husband or children.

Olesya’s mother, Antonina Timofeevna, said in an interview with RT that, according to diplomats who managed to meet with the Russian woman after the arrest, the woman is depressed, crying and asks not to be extradited to the United States.

“She worked at the embassy for so many years (USA in Moscow. - RT ). She has so many thanks, so many letters from the same embassy. And on you! Build such a charge! ” - said the mother to the detainee.

The incident in Spain was commented on by Maria Butina, a Russian woman who spent more than a year in custody in the United States on charges of conspiring to work as a foreign agent without proper registration with the US Department of Justice. Butina called what was happening "hunting" for Russian citizens.

“The world has opened a completely unprecedented in the literal sense of the“ season of hunting “for Russian citizens. And the main hunter for people is the USA and, obviously, this is a high-precision and targeted hunt, specifically for our compatriots who are caught everywhere and for any reason, ”Butina wrote in her Telegram.