Moscow - The U.S. authorities, which are demanding the extradition of former CIA employee Edward Snowden, are pushing Russia to violate human rights, said lawyer Anatoly Kucherena who is rendering legal assistance to the U.S. whistleblower
“The statements of U.S. officials who demand that Russia transfers Snowden are not meaningful; besides, they are inconsistent with international law. In fact, they urge Russia to discriminate against a U.S. citizen who has asked for temporary asylum and to commit a flagrant violation of human rights,” Kucherena told Interfax on Thursday.
By declining to transfer the former U.S. security service officer, “the Russian side is operating in strict compliance with international legal norms,” he said.
“The entire rhetoric of Washington aims to force Russia to violate elementary human rights and to take the path of double standards,” Kucherena said.
“This is an absolutely impermissible and unacceptable action in regard to a seeker of temporary asylum,” he noted.
“This position of U.S. politicians and diplomats demonstrates their total neglect of fundamental human rights and freedoms,” the lawyer said.
“They practically insist that Russia puts Edward on a plane and sends him to Washington as a package,” Kucherena said.
“This position is in discord with the fundamental principles of freedom and democracy the U.S. government has always been declaring,” he said.
Kucherena, who heads the Russian Public Chamber’s commission for citizen security and the judiciary, met on Wednesday with the former CIA officer stranded in the transit zone of the Sheremetyevo airport.
