Falsified document was used against Russian citizen Seleznyov held on Guam - defense lawyers

MOSCOW. July 22 (Interfax) - The defense lawyers for Russian citizen Roman Seleznyov, who is in a U.S. jail on the island of Guam, have asked for his immediate release from custody because the arrest warrant was issued after his detention, which is a violation.

"According to my information, he was abducted, and according to U.S. authorities, he was detained on the Maldives at 10:00 a.m. on July 5. They say an Interpol order had been issued in Seattle at 10:00 a.m. on July 4. But the order was issued on July 5, which clearly shows that the document is falsified," Roman's father Valery Seleznyov, who is a Russian State Duma deputy, told Interfax.

Valery Seleznyov assumed that his son "was kidnapped and they had to issue the documents later due to the time difference."

"This means that there were no legal documents at the time of the kidnapping. Lawyers on Guam have filed a request to reschedule the trial and to try a new case involving the violation against Roman Seleznyov, demanding his immediate release in the courtroom," Valery Seleznyov said.

According to Valery Seleznyov, the court has rescheduled the hearing where Roman Seleznyov was expected to be identified, which was initially scheduled for Tuesday. He assumed that it may be a technical rescheduling.

Valery Seleznyov said he is hoping that the court will consider the lawyers' request on Tuesday, adding that it may not happen.

Roman Seleznyov was detained on the Maldives at the request of the U.AS. and was later transferred to a U.S. jail on Guam. The U.S. authorities suspect him of stealing U.S. consumers' credit card data in the period between October 2009 and February 2011 and later selling this data.

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