4 ms·

Couldn't it be merely a criminal claiming to be a political victim to avoid extradition? Never heard the name here at all, let alone in a political context. I

Couldn't it be merely a criminal claiming to be a political victim to avoid extradition? Never heard the name here at all, let alone in a political context. I myself know from close hearsay a fellow who happily traded grain until 2022 when he left for US with $50m of a bank's money in his pocket. A few people in the bank lost their jobs as a result. Those people would certainly welcome that critic back.

embedding-shape 9mo ago
I guess he could be, but Interpol themselves seems to disagree with that since they canceled the request after looking into it deeper: > After Pestrikov had spent almost two years on the wanted list, the CCF ruled that his case was predominantly political. He showed us CCF documents that said the information Russia had provided was "generic and formulaic" and there had been an "inadequate explanation" of the alleged crime. Interpol cancelled the request for Pestrikov's detention.
- pydry 9mo ago
  As an oligarch who acquired a mining company on the cheap during the post soviet gangster 90s he doesnt exactly fit the profile of a beleagured peace activist. The way that he is described by the BBC as a businessman (not an oligarch) also suggests that he was taken off the list for political reasons. London collects activist Russian oligarchs the same way Washington collects activist ex-Iranian monarchy.
- drysine 9mo ago
  Can't the CCF's decision be "predominantly political"? That paragraph you quoted is "generic and formulaic" and is an "inadequate explanation".
  - embedding-shape 9mo ago
    Yes, you either put your trust with CCF, BBC and this man, or Russia, both sides could claim the same about the other. I don't have any experience with CCF, I do trust BBC, I don't trust that man, so in the end I trust that what BBC writes is closer to the truth.
    - drysine 9mo ago
      >I do trust BBC That's a mistake. BBC has perfected the art of omitting relevant information thus creating a completely different story. My favorite example so far is that after that debacle with Canadian parliament giving standing ovation to a very old Ukrainian who fought against the USSR (and also collaborated with Nazi, as some Canadian Jewish organization was quick to point out), the BBC counteracted "Russian propaganda" by pointing out that almost all Ukrainians fought against Nazis in WW2, completely forgetting to mention the fact that post-2014 regime in Kiev glorifies former Nazi collaborators and demolishes memorials of Soviet generals who fought Nazis. The most cynical was the renaming of major avenue in Kiev leading to Babiy Yar (the place where thousands of Jews were massacred) to honor Bandera and the renaming of the avenue that used to honor Nikolai Vatutin[0], Soviet general who fought Nazis on the territory of Ukraine, after Shukhevych[1], another Nazi collaborator and mass murderer. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Vatutin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Vatutin [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Shukhevych https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Shukhevych
      - embedding-shape 9mo ago
        It's not a black & white "believe everything they say". It's a "You have these two parties, with different stories, who do you trust more?" and in this case, easily BBC, even though they, like any media organization, commit mistakes sometimes. And again, I don't trust what BBC claims without thinking about it myself, just like I won't take what CNN says at face value. But context matters.
        drysine 9mo ago
        [flagged]

embedding-shape 9mo ago

I guess he could be, but Interpol themselves seems to disagree with that since they canceled the request after looking into it deeper: > After Pestrikov had spent almost two years on the wanted list, the CCF ruled that his case was predominantly political. He showed us CCF documents that said the information Russia had provided was "generic and formulaic" and there had been an "inadequate explanation" of the alleged crime. Interpol cancelled the request for Pestrikov's detention.

pydry 9mo ago
As an oligarch who acquired a mining company on the cheap during the post soviet gangster 90s he doesnt exactly fit the profile of a beleagured peace activist. The way that he is described by the BBC as a businessman (not an oligarch) also suggests that he was taken off the list for political reasons. London collects activist Russian oligarchs the same way Washington collects activist ex-Iranian monarchy.
drysine 9mo ago
Can't the CCF's decision be "predominantly political"? That paragraph you quoted is "generic and formulaic" and is an "inadequate explanation".
- embedding-shape 9mo ago
  Yes, you either put your trust with CCF, BBC and this man, or Russia, both sides could claim the same about the other. I don't have any experience with CCF, I do trust BBC, I don't trust that man, so in the end I trust that what BBC writes is closer to the truth.
  - drysine 9mo ago
    >I do trust BBC That's a mistake. BBC has perfected the art of omitting relevant information thus creating a completely different story. My favorite example so far is that after that debacle with Canadian parliament giving standing ovation to a very old Ukrainian who fought against the USSR (and also collaborated with Nazi, as some Canadian Jewish organization was quick to point out), the BBC counteracted "Russian propaganda" by pointing out that almost all Ukrainians fought against Nazis in WW2, completely forgetting to mention the fact that post-2014 regime in Kiev glorifies former Nazi collaborators and demolishes memorials of Soviet generals who fought Nazis. The most cynical was the renaming of major avenue in Kiev leading to Babiy Yar (the place where thousands of Jews were massacred) to honor Bandera and the renaming of the avenue that used to honor Nikolai Vatutin[0], Soviet general who fought Nazis on the territory of Ukraine, after Shukhevych[1], another Nazi collaborator and mass murderer. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Vatutin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Vatutin [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Shukhevych https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Shukhevych
    - embedding-shape 9mo ago
      It's not a black & white "believe everything they say". It's a "You have these two parties, with different stories, who do you trust more?" and in this case, easily BBC, even though they, like any media organization, commit mistakes sometimes. And again, I don't trust what BBC claims without thinking about it myself, just like I won't take what CNN says at face value. But context matters.
      - drysine 9mo ago
        [flagged]