Reply by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Alexander Lukashevich to the question of the mass media regarding the decision of the Libya’s Supreme Military Court in the case of Alexander Shadrov and Vladimir Dolgov
Question: Please comment on the decision of the Libya’s Supreme Military Court in the case of Russian nationals Alexander Shadrov and Vladimir Dolgov.
Answer: The Libya’s Supreme Military Court during its session of the 14 August examined the appeal of advocates of the Russian nationals Alexander Shadrov and Vladimir Dolgov, as well as 22 citizens of the Ukraine and Belarus convicted to long prison terms on a charge of aiding the regime of Muammar al-Gaddafi during the period of the armed conflict (assistance in the renewal of military equipment). It was decided to transfer this case to the civil court. The sentence given in July 2012 by the military court in respect of our nationals was overturned, and they were reclassified from the convicted into suspects. A new trial is expected.
Currently, the Libya’s Prosecutor General Office is preparing prosecution materials to transfer them to the civil court. The line of defence will depend on their specific content. The Russia’s Embassy in Tripoli maintains close contacts with the representatives of official Libyan authorities and advocates of our nationals, attaining the enforcement of their legal rights. Employees of the diplomatic mission regularly visit the Russians, provide them with medications, food and other essentials.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia interacting with other federal agencies will continue active and well-aimed work with Libyan authorities to settle the situation with Alexander Shadrov and Vladimir Dolgov for their faster return home. For that purpose, it is planned to send an interagency workgroup to Libya in the near future, which will establish additional contacts with Libyan authorities in Tripoli and Zintan, where the detained Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian nationals are kept.
