US Denies Visa to Mother of Russian National Charged With Cybercrimes - Lawyer

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US authorities have denied a visa to the mother of Russian national Yuriy Martyshev to attend the court session in which he will be sentenced for cybercrimes, Martyshev’s lawyer Alexey Tarasov told Sputnik on Monday

"It is very unfortunate that the mother of Yuri Martyshev received denials on her application to get a US visa when she applied at the US diplomatic mission in Riga, Latvia," Tarasov said.

The sentencing was initially scheduled for October 19 but has been postponed until April 19, 2019.

Martyshev’s mother let US diplomats know that her desire to attend the hearing is her only reason for wanting to come to the United States, Tarasov noted.

“The initial application was denied based on the fact that she may remain in the US after the sentencing and try to obtain immigrant status. She obtained additional documentation. Unfortunately, the second request was also denied,” the lawyer said.

As the new date of sentencing approaches, perhaps she will try once again, maybe with some additional assistance, Tarasov added.

On July 6, 2017, a US federal judge in Virginia charged Martyshev — who is also a citizen of Latvia which extradited him to the United States — with four counts of cybercrime, including committing wire fraud, accessing computers without authorization and aiding cyber-attacks.

READ MORE: Russian Diplomats Visit Accused Cyber Criminal Yuri Martyshev in US Prison

On March 12, Martyshev pleaded guilty to conspiring to intentionally accessing computers without authorization and to computer intrusion with intent to cause damage.

The Russian Embassy in the United States said that the defendant was apprehended in Latvia in violation of the 1999 Treaty between the United States and Russia on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.