The Rosselkhoznadzor of the Russian Federation announced the return to Russia of an employee of its subordinate organization, the All-Russian Center for Plant Quarantine (FSBI VNIIKR) Yulia Krasilova. The Russian woman was detained at the request of the US authorities on February 14 in the Canary Islands, where she arrived as part of the official delegation of the Russian department.
“The decision to release Krasilova was preceded by active legal support provided by the attorney Oleg Gubarev hired by the Rosselkhoznadzor. The Rosselkhoznadzor expresses gratitude to the Russian Embassy in Spain, the consular department of the Russian Embassy in Spain, the Honorary Consulate of the Russian Federation in the Canary Islands and the Foreign Ministry for their assistance in returning Mrs. Krasilova to Russia, ”the ministry said in a statement.
Krasilova works as a translator of the phytosanitary risk and international interaction department. In mid-February, a woman was detained at an airport in Tenerife when she, after a short trip, was about to fly home with her colleagues.
At the same time, the Russian side did not receive any notifications about the search for Krasilova. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry immediately suggested that this could happen on the initiative of the US authorities.
According to human rights activist Alexander Ionov, a Russian woman who previously worked at the US Embassy in Moscow, American authorities suspected of transferring biometric data to third parties. It was noted that in the case of extradition, she could face life imprisonment.
“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, ”said the sister of the detainee, Elena Krasilova, earlier.
The Russian Foreign Ministry immediately took control of the situation and began to provide assistance to Krasilova. As Russian lawyer Oleg Gubarev told RT, during the trial the defense managed to convince the court that the extradition of Krasilova to the United States was impossible.
“We are talking about the impossibility of the extradition procedure in connection with the special circumstances of Olesya. Now this is so far, I can’t say more. After such a court decision, Olesya was naturally released. She is already at home, feeling well and is now resting after a long flight, ”said the defender.
According to him, the Spanish court considered only the issue of extradition to the United States. “From a legal point of view, in Spain the case is fully completed. As for the proceedings on the merits, this is the sole competence of the US court and American lawyers, ”Gubarev added.
Olesya's mom told RT that her daughter flew in on Friday night, only by the morning she got to the apartment and after a long flight she was resting.
“To everyone who participated in her return, many thanks! We are very grateful to our Foreign Ministry. When she was detained, we were on the verge of survival, and now I can’t even believe it. We don’t know how she is there, because we haven’t talked to her yet, ”Antonina Timofeevna Krasilova told RT.
Advisor to the head of Rosselkhoznadzor Yulia Melano told RT that she managed to achieve the release of Krasilova at the end of April.
“All this time it was not possible to transport it to Russia in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. As soon as this opportunity presented itself, Olesya managed to return home, our employees met her at the Moscow airport and escorted her to the apartment, ”Melano said.
She added that now Krasilova, like all citizens entering the country, must observe the regime of self-isolation for 14 days.
“Olesya is still listed as an employee of the Rosselkhoznadzor, what decision she will make about her career is too early to say, because the person has just arrived. She did not report any health problems. We provide her with maximum support with everything we can. While it will be on self-isolation, we took care of the products. Before that, we had a collective fund-raising to help Olesya. The Rosselkhoznadzor also allocated funds for a lawyer, whose competent actions led to her release, ”the interlocutor of RT noted.
The department said that they do not yet know all the details of the release of the Russian woman.
“We understand that this was preceded by a lot of work by diplomats and a lawyer. We have not yet been informed of the details, but we talked about whether Olesya was liberated, if there were any tricks. Yes, it really was a release and there are no complaints from Spain, ”Melano summed up.