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No response to embassy’s inquiries about detention of Russians in Finland’s Kajaani

A first-instance court on May 3 ruled to place the three in custody until August 16, the local media said

HELSINKI, May 3. /TASS/. Russia’s embassy told TASS that it has referred a note to the Finnish foreign ministry demanding access to the Russian nationals who were detained in Kajaani after it has received no response to its inquiries.

The embassy recalled that three Russian nationals were detained in the Finnish city of Kajaani on April 30. According to the embassy, two young men and a girl studying at a local college are suspected of smuggling sanctioned goods from Finland. A first-instance court on May 3 ruled to place the three in custody until August 16, the local media said. The court session was held behind closed doors, with no details made public.

"Immediately after learning about the detention of Russian citizens, the embassy demanded that Finnish law enforcement agencies explain the reason of this and provide a possibility for the employees of our consular department to get in touch with them. All the embassy’s inquiries on this matter are remaining unanswered in violation of the bilateral consular convention," the embassy said.

"We are in touch with the families of those detained and will do our best to defend the rights and legal interests of the Russian nationals," the embassy stressed.

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