Valery Seleznev, a prominent Russian lawmaker and the father of Roman Seleznev who was arrested on bank fraud and other charges earlier this week in the United States, speaks to the media during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 11, 2014. Family members of a Russian man charged with hacking in the United States insist he is innocent and fear incarceration will kill him. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Indicted Russian's family say he's innocent
1 hour ago • By NATALIYA VASILYEVA
MOSCOW (AP) — Family members of a Russian man charged with hacking in the United States insist he is innocent and fear he will die in custody if he doesn't have his medication.
Roman Seleznev, son of a prominent Russian lawmaker, was arrested on bank fraud and other charges this week. U.S. authorities allege he hacked into computers at hundreds of businesses including the Phoenix Zoo.
Seleznev's father, Valery, told reporters at a televised news conference Friday that his son, who was left brain-damaged after a 2011 bombing in Marrakech, will die without his medicine.
The son appeared in court Monday on the Pacific island of Guam and was ordered detained until a hearing July 22. He was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service over the weekend, according to documents in federal court in Seattle.
"There are no medical services there at all, treatment is not available," Seleznev said. "He will die."
Don Hall, a U.S. Marshals Service spokesman in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, said Guam authorities have staff to handle medical issues.
"The U.S. Marshals Service is adamant about ensuring that detainees receive all necessary medical care and prescribed medication," Hall said.
Guam, an unincorporated U.S. territory with a population of 161,000, has a public hospital, several public health clinics and a naval hospital. Detainees usually receive medical attention at the naval hospital, Police Chief Fred Bordallo said.
Roman Seleznev was being held in a federal facility at Agana Lockup, Guam Dept. of Corrections Officer Joe Saloma said Saturday.
Prosecutors in Guam moved this week to have Seleznev transferred to Washington state, but a judge has not issued a ruling. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Greenberg in Seattle said Seleznev would not be brought to Seattle until after the July 22 hearing.
Seleznev, known by his nickname of "Track2," is accused of carrying out a scheme to hack into retailers' computers, install malicious software and steal credit card numbers from 2009 to 2011.
He is accused of marketing and selling those credit card numbers on "criminally inspired websites" and using servers in the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and elsewhere.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Washington of kidnapping Seleznev. U.S. officials have declined to say how or where he was apprehended.
Seleznev's girlfriend, Anna Otisko, said she was with him when he was grabbed by unknown men at Maldives Airport and put on the plane. Otisko said he was never wealthy and the vacation in the Maldives was a luxury for them.
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Doug Esser in Seattle and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed reporting.
[Source: The Southern Illinoisian - here.]
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US Accused of 'Kidnapping' Russian Hacker Roman Valerevich Seleznev Following Arrest[FULL article - ibtimes.co.uk - here.]
David Gilbert
By David Gilbert
July 8, 2014 12:31 BST
Russian Hacker Roman Seleznev Kidnapped by US Claims Russia
The US Secret Service would not say if arrested Russian hacker Roman Valerevich Seleznev was also involved in the high-profile breach of US retailer Target earlier this year.
Russia has accused the US of violating a bilateral agreement and "kidnapping" the son of a member of Russia's parliament after it arrested 30-year-old Roman Valerevich Seleznev.
The Russian media is reporting that Seleznev is the son of Russian MP Valery Seleznev who told the Itar-Tass news agency he had not been able to speak to his son but added: "This is a monstrous lie and a provocative act."
Reacting to the arrest, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website:
"We consider this as the latest unfriendly move from Washington. This is not the first time the US side, ignoring a bilateral treaty ... on mutual assistance in criminal matters, has gone ahead with what amounts to the kidnapping of a Russian citizen."
Kidnapping
Seleznev, who was indicted in March 2011 on charges including bank fraud, causing damage to a protected computer, obtaining information from a protected computer and aggravated identity theft, was arrested by the Secret Service on 5 July in an airport in the Maldives.
Seleznev was transported to Guam where he appeared in court on Monday, and will be held there until his next hearing in two weeks. If found guilty of the bank fraud charges alone, Seleznev faces up to 30 years in jail.
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said in a statement: "This important arrest sends a clear message: despite the increasingly borderless nature of transitional organized crime, the long arm of justice – and this Department – will continue to disrupt and dismantle sophisticated criminal organisations."
Credit cards ...
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COMMENT
"Grabbed by unknown men..." doesn't sound right.
Don't authorities who carry out arrests even bother to identify themselves?
Guessing the arrestee could prove useful in terms of future attempts (if any eventuate) to leverage a Snowden-for-son swap.
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