Izvestiya 12 April 2002 Interview with Sergey Fridinskiy, deputy general prosecutor for the Southern Federal District, by Yelena Stroiteleva; place and date not given: "Sergey Fridinskiy: This Cooperation Is Unprecedented"
Sergey Fridinskiy, Russian deputy general prosecutor for the Southern Federal District, commented to Izvestiya's own correspondent in Rostov on the situation concerning the Russian Taliban in Guantanamo.
[Stroiteleva] Will America help us further?
[Fridinskiy] Our cooperation with the U.S. side has not ended with one trip by an investigator. We will soon be sending to the United States an instruction on legal aid with a request that the circumstances connected with the participation of our citizens in combat operations on the side of the Taliban be clarified.
[Stroiteleva] Is there a possibility of their being dispatched temporarily onto Russian territory?
[Fridinskiy] This is ruled out. As regards extradition, we can raise this question only when sufficient proof has been gathered in order to institute criminal proceedings against our Taliban.
[Stroiteleva] What further action will the United States take against the prisoners?
[Fridinskiy] The citizens of around 30 countries are being held in Guantanamo. It will be difficult for the U.S. side to deal with them on its own and ensure that criminal proceedings are lawfully instituted against them. Take, for example, the question of how to establish their identity. It seems to me that the United States will be clearly forced to turn to those countries whose citizens are being held at the base. The cooperation that has begun from our side shows that the Americans are going down this road.
[Stroiteleva] What practical importance does the evidence of the Russian Taliban have for the Russian law enforcement organs?
[[Fridinskiy] Of course their evidence is important, and we will check it. But I would like to mention something else. This is the first time that such a case is being investigated. Such close cooperation with the Americans is also unprecedented. If positive experience is acquired, the work of the law enforcement organs in Russia and in other countries will be made easier. We will be able to combat terrorism not separately but jointly, at the international level. This also concerns the investigation of other cases -- for example, the nonreturn of currency earnings from abroad. After all, it is very often the case that, in spite of the existence of agreements on legal aid, differences in countries' legislation systems do not make it possible to implement investigative actions that are essential in order to establish the truth.