Russian cyber crime suspect to be deported from Guam

Transcript

A federal judge on Guam has denied a motion to discharge a Russian cyber-crime suspect who says he was kidnapped by the US government while on holiday and brought to the island.

Roman Seleznev is being held on Guam after he was seized by US agents in the Maldives, and forced onto a plane to be arrested.

But, as Jamie Tahana explains, Mr Seleznev is likely to be sent to the US state of Washington to face trial within days:

In a decision announced on Thursday morning, Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood denied a motion put forward by Mr Seleznev's lawyers, which argued that the way in which he was brought to Guam by the US authorities breached international law.

This judgement means that he's likely to be sent to the US state of Washington to face trial there, although details haven't yet been announced.

The circumstances of his arrest have been the main point of controversy around this case. What happened?

Well, earlier this month the 30-year-old was at an aiport in the Maldives about to return from a holiday when he was seized by US agents and forced onto a plane to Guam - a US territory - where he was then arrested on US soil.

Mr Seleznev's lawyers, and Russia, say that Washington circumvented many laws in his arrest - accusations that the US has denied.

What has the Russian reaction been?

Quite severe. In a statement, the Russian government labelled Mr Seleznev's detention as "kidnapping" and described it as "the latest unfriendly action by Washington."

Moscow has also protested to the US embassy, and sent diplomats to Guam following concerns about the conditions at the prison he was being kept in.

Now, Roman Seleznev is the son of a powerful ultra-nationalist politician, Valery Seleznev, who told Russian media that his son's life was in danger on Guam because he wasn't getting the medical care necessary to treat a condition related to brain injury he sustained in a 2011 terror bombing in Morocco.

However, officials on Guam denied this and opened the island's prison to media to show that he did have access to a bed, mattress, blankets, toiletries and medical care.

So what exactly is Mr Seleznev wanted for?

US federal prosecutors believe that he's the mastermind behind a massive credit card hacking scam.

In 2011, he was indicted by the US state of Washington on charges relating to the theft of more than 200,000 credit card numbers and identities.

Now, after Thursday's decision, he's likely to be flown from Guam to Seattle to face those charges, charges that Moscow has called questionable.