Georgy Borisenko, counsellor of the Russian embassy, told RIA Novosti that the Russian seamen would soon leave the immigrants detention facility in Arizona and would arrive in Los Angeles by plane, where they would take an Aeroflot flight to Moscow on July 23.
Shishkovich and Shagovik were arrested in April 2001 as part of the Zvezda Maru (The Star of Maru) trading vessel's Russian-Ukrainian crew off the Mexican coast. Aboard the ship the U.S. Coast Guard found 12 tons of cocaine. In course of the investigation, the ship's captain and several crewmen, citizens of Ukraine, were found guilty and convicted, while on July 14 this year the only two Russians in the Zvezda Maru's crew were completely acquitted by the jury in San Diego (California).
What happened next is a "legal mishap", believes the Russian diplomat. According to him, Shishkovich and Shagovik were discharged from custody in the courtroom, but having no U.S. visas, they, as offenders, of the immigration regime were immediately handed over to the U.S. Immigration Service.
To step up the Russians' return to St. Petersburg, on June 20 the Russian embassy in Washington forwarded a letter to the National Security Ministry, demanding to push on the procedure of issuing the exit permit for Shishkovich and Shagovik, said Mr. Borisenko. The embassy's request was backed by the Department of State.
The Russian diplomat confirmed that the health of the seamen, 57 and 67 respectively, following the three-year detention in the US prison left much to be desired. "Their health is poor", said Mr. Borisenko pointing out that this factor had been among the arguments of the Russian side insisting on prompt release of Shishkovich and Shagovik.
Taking into account the fact that for the period of their detention their foreign passports have expired, the Russian consulate general in San Francisco will issue "return certificates" to Shishkovich and Shagovik today, so that they could return to Russia.
