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Swiss official:
Kaloyev can appeal to Switzerland for transition to Russian jail, Adamov to complain about Switzerland to European Court
Vitaly Kaloyev, a Russian national found guilty of murdering a Swiss air traffic controller in Switzerland, may serve his term in Russia only after all methods of appeal have been exhausted and his sentence comes into force, Christoph Blocher, Chief of the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police has said in an Interview with Interfax.
“We deeply regret the circumstances in which the crime took place and realize the gravity of Kaloyev’s felony. However, first we must deal with the sentence handed down by the Zurich canton’s court of first instance, which has been protested by both sides. We must wait until all possibilities for appeal have been exhausted,” he said.
After that Kaloyev “can appeal to the authorities Switzerland for his transition to Russia to serve his punishment. The Swiss authorities will study any such appeal closely,” Blocher said.
Kaloyev’s transfer to Russia requires “Russia to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons that it signed in April 2005,” he said. The convention defines the details of the transfer procedure and can become a legal foundation for the transfer.
Kaloyev was convicted of murdering an air traffic controller from the Skyguide company in 2004. The air traffic controller had been in control of the air space where Russian and German aircraft collided in 2002. Kaloyev’s family died in the crash.
Speaking of another court case, that of Yevgeny Adamov, the former Russian Atomic Energy Minister who was detained in Switzerland and later extradited to Russia on charges of embezzlement, Blocher said that he has the right to file a suit with the European Court of Human Rights.
“The Federal Court of Switzerland decided to extradite Adamov to Russia. Its ruling stated that Adamov had arrived in Switzerland for personal reasons not related with being summoned as a witness. At this stage we trust the ruling of the Federal Court,” he said.
“Naturally Adamov has the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights to look into the circumstances of his arrest,” Blocher said.
Adamov has filed a lawsuit with the European Court because he thinks his arrest in Switzerland was illegal. He believes the European Convention was violated under which an officially summoned witness cannot be arrested.
Blocher said Switzerland is determined to expand its relations with Russian law enforcement agencies and appreciates cooperation between the two countries, but it has no intentions of rolling back bank secrecy.
Noting that the last visit of the Swiss justice and police minister to Russia took place 10 years ago he said that during the upcoming visit it would be best “to discuss the most important cases of interest to both sides and the possibilities of deepening our relations at all levels.”
“Switzerland is very particular about financial transactions being lawfully conducted and therefore it highly values permanent cooperation in this sphere, especially at the operational level,” he said.
“Switzerland wants to preserve the high standard of its financial centers and the trust in them, as it tries to protect them from criminal operations,” Blocher said adding that his country “has introduced effective mechanisms aimed at preventing abuses on its financial floors.”
“There are no contradictions between these measures and Swiss banking secrecy that is primarily meant to protect the owners of legal means and to guarantee them special confidentiality. Therefore it is out of the question that Switzerland would give up its banking secrecy,” Blocher said.
Asked to comment on the Russian mafia he said: “Combating organized crime is a priority for Switzerland. But this struggle is global and does not apply only to Russia. Therefore we cooperate in this sphere with many countries and are also ready to deepen cooperation in resisting organized crime with Russia.”
Blocher will arrive in Russia on Monday.
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