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Moscow demands ‘clear explanation’ of US charges against Russian lawyer
MOSCOW, Jan 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Moscow on Friday criticised the US
indictment of Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya who met with officials
from Donald Trump’s election campaign in 2016, demanding Washington explain
the charges against her.
“We expect a clear and articulate explanation from Washington” of the
charges, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, adding that
“criminal cases based on unclear claims” against Russians in the United
States have become a “habit” for US justice.
Zakharova said it seemed like Washington is out for “revenge” against
Veselnitskaya, who is at the centre of the Russia scandal rocking the US
presidency, after she met with Donald Trump Jr who was seeking to get
information on the Hillary Clinton campaign.
Trump Jr said nothing came of the meeting as it was focused on adoptions
of Russian orphans. Veselnitskaya denied meddling in election issues and said
the meeting was a waste of time.
The indictment this week said she had fabricated evidence in a 2013 case
filed in the US against Russian firm Prevezon holdings, which was allegedly
involved in a $230 million tax fraud scheme in Moscow exposed by crusading
lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
Magnitsky was arrested and died in pre-trial detention in 2009 of
untreated health issues, his case later inspiring the US Magnitsky Act
intended to blacklist Russian officials implicated in human rights abuses.
Veselnitskaya’s indictment is, at least on the surface, unrelated to the
probe into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia ahead of
his 2016 victory over Clinton in the presidential election.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1709 hrs