The Orenburg Regional Court has begun hearing the state prosecution's appeal in the 6-million-ruble bribe case involving former senator Rauf Arashukov. The prosecution is seeking to increase the fine for the former official, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, from 120 million to 420 million rubles.
In an interview with the Dozhd TV channel, Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan assured that Yerevan will not extradite Russians persecuted for political reasons to Moscow.
"Not a single person will be detained or deported to any third country for political reasons. I officially guarantee this," he stated.
Simonyan said that Armenian law enforcement agencies previously released detained Russians after the circumstances were clarified. He also noted that artists declared "foreign agents" in Russia are visiting and performing in Armenia. He cites the case of Vladimir Zhilinsky, coordinator of the "Golos" (Voice) movement for the protection of voters' rights, who was detained in Armenia at the request of the Russian Federation as a "foreign agent" but later released.