INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A bill submitted to the Russian parliament has raised fears that the thousands of Russian dissidents seeking political refuge in post-Soviet
lower-house State Duma by the ruling United Russia party, would allow prosecutors to send investigative materials to foreign states to seek
Russians who fled the country have since been declared wanted or sentenced to prison in absentia.The invasion also sparked the exodus of
Kremlin has recently sought to downplay the impact of their departures and encourage them to return, reports indicate that Moscow
outlet Agentsvo reported that a provider of stolen personal data sold on the black market had compiled a list of Russians who left the
country following the full-scale invasion
The database, while not confirmed as an official government document, contained personal details such as names, birthdates, reasons for
leaving and destination countries.Vasily Piskarev, the head of the Safety and Anti-Corruption Committee.duma.gov.ruShortly after, the outlet
IStories reported that the Russian Interior Ministry had advised Putin to create an official database of Russians who had left the country
as part of a its new anti-extremism strategy, fueling concerns among emigres that they could be targeted for their decision to leave.Sergei
Smirnov, a lawyer from the Perviy Otdel human rights project, told IStories that many Russian laws aimed at suppressing dissent have no
equivalents outside Russia
While individuals in Russia can face fines or imprisonment for "discrediting" the Russian army, law enforcement in both Western and
non-Western countries lacks the legal framework to prosecute similar cases.Despite its isolation from the West due to the invasion of
Ukraine, Russia continues to cooperate with international policing bodies like Interpol, though primarily on serious crimes
A recent example is the arrest in Turkey of a Russian man suspected of planting a car bomb that injured a GRU intelligence officer and his
wife in Moscow.An Interpol spokesperson told The Moscow Times that the organization's constitution prohibits involvement in politically
motivated arrests, and any such requests would be rejected outright
The Moscow Times contacted the British Foreign Office to ask how a Western government would respond to such requests, but it did not
However, Moscow may try to overwhelm Western law enforcement agencies with requests they cannot fulfill or push for arrests in countries
whether it will be used to target Russians with baseless accusations or if it will be employed to try and extradite individuals to force
them into military service.While authorities have used coercive tactics to force men to sign military contracts, Russia has not yet launched
a full-scale mobilization
sign six-month contracts.This ambiguity offers solace to some emigres.Alex, a food service manager turned crypto-trader who left Russia for
Uzbekistan because of the war more than two years ago, told The Moscow Times that he does not expect much to change for himself or his
have no reason to fear criminal prosecution
Because who needs me in Russia? Maybe at the front, but there is no criminal prosecution for evading conscription [by failing to show up for
Russia's repressive legislation.Zaza Bibilashvili, a Georgian lawyer and the founder of the Chavchavadze Center for European Studies and
convictions.Georgian authorities have previously extradited Russian citizens with minority backgrounds and refused entry to Russian
have re-appeared in prisons outside of the country, which could not have happened without the active involvement of Georgian special
He claimed he had been abducted by Georgian-speaking men in civilian clothes and had been under surveillance prior to his kidnapping.And in
October 2023, Russian left-wing activist Rafail Shepelev vanished in Tbilisi and was found over a month later in a Russian detention center
According to the Perviy Otdel human rights project, he had no plans to return to Russia and was not even in possession of his passport at
aimed at gaining approval from the leadership," said Ilya Novikov, a Russian lawyer based in Kyiv
are likely to ignore such criminal requests
He noted that requests for arrests may happen, and so Russian citizens should still take precautions, but that they are unlikely to be in
extradited to Russia for political reasons
He noted that detentions in countries like Kazakhstan usually result in temporary arrests or questioning rather than extradition.Anastasia
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