This is a fascinating, and chilling article from Natasha Bertrand, a terrific reporter for The Atlantic. it tells in detailed stories how Russia is using the legal systems of other countries, including the United States to cause serious harassment of Russian dissidents and those it considers enemies. They do this by putting a "Red Notice" on people, which thought it sounds Russian is actually a term from Interpol. (It's the title of the excellent book I've mentioned here by Bill Brower about his involvement with Russia which lead to the murder of his Russian attorney, Sergei Magnitsky, which lead to the Magnitsky Act. And which subsequently lead to the infamous Trump Tower meeting, since Putin wants the law overturned.) The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, so if there are any dissidents or enemies that Russia wants to deal with, they can't go through the State Department or courts. But they can use Interpol, and put Red Notices on people, which this administration has followed through with the use of I.C.E. That's because so many of the dissidents have fled to the U.S. for asylum, but for whatever reasons may have overstayed their visas. And that makes it an "immigration issue." And so, enter I.C.E. As Bertrand notes, the problem is that U.S. courts treat the situation as if Russian courts are the same as ours. So, if a dissident has been charged with a heinous but bogus crime in Russia to shut them up, our courts see that as legitimate. She ends the article this way -- "A lawyer who has been following this phenomenon closely, and who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the press, put it this way: 'The Russians have figured out how to weaponize this. We have this tremendous system of justice here which isn’t equipped to address nonjudicial questions, like ‘Is this litigant seeking to abuse our entire judicial system?’'” Check the article out here.
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AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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