Moscow Accuses US of Forcing Unlawfully Detained Russians to Plead Guilty

The US authorities are trying to persuade unlawfully detained Russian nationals to plead guilty, despite non-existent accusations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Foreign Ministry renewed its warning of the threat of being detained or arrested at the request of US law enforcement bodies or special services in third countries.

"Ignoring everyone, Washington moved to abductions of Russian citizens. This is what happened with Konstantin Yaroshenko, caught in 2010 in Liberia and secretly — in violation of national laws of the country and international laws — extradited to the US…" the statement reads.

The ministry stressed that the Russians arrested that way were experiencing bias attitude from the US Justice.

"They are trying in every way, including direct threats, to persuade them to confess guilt, despite the non-existence of many charges, and in case of refusal [to make] such confession, [they] sentence [them] to long prison terms as it happened with Konstantin Yaroshenko and Russian businessman Viktor Bout," the ministry said.

Yaroshenko, sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring to import more than $100 million worth of cocaine into the United States, was arrested in Liberia in 2010 and was later extradited to the United States by Liberian authorities.

Bout, convicted on charges of conspiring to kill US nationals and conspiracy to sell weapons to a designated terrorist group (FARC guerillas) in Colombia, was extradited from Thailand to the United States and is now serving a 25 year sentence.