Czech Republic wants to deport a member of the russian diaspora for cooperation with russian diplomats
Kyiv • UNN
Prague is preparing to deport russian Alexander Stepanov, who has lived in the Czech Republic for more than 20 years and headed the Coordinating Council of Czech Compatriots, because of his alleged contacts with russian diplomats involved in the 2020 ricin scandal.
Prague is preparing to deport russian Alexander Stepanov, who has been living in the country for more than 20 years and maintains ties with russian diplomats. This was reported by Deník N , UNN .
Details
The publication said that Stepanov has been living in the Czech Republic for almost 20 years and since 2018 he has been the head of the Coordination Council of the Associations of Compatriots of the Czech Republic.
According to the Czech authorities, Stepanov had contacts with russian diplomats involved in the "ricin scandal" in 2020. Back then, a russian diplomat brought the poisonous substance ricin to the Czech Republic and, through an anonymous email sent to the Czech intelligence services, tried to frame his colleague, with whom he was at odds.
Stepanov denies cooperation with russian special services and has been trying to appeal this decision in court for a year. Deník N wrote that the Czech authorities decided to deprive the man of permanent residence in the country on the basis of secret information received from the special services.
Addendum
The newspaper says that in previous years, the BIS reported that russia was interested in the community of russians in the Czech Republic.
Using information gathering and the creation of networks of influence, the Russian state authorities have largely sought to marginalize expatriates opposed to the Kremlin, as well as to strengthen the influence of organizations of compatriots sympathetic to the current political representation of the russian federation
Recall
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala says that Prague will no longer issue visas and residence permits to russians and Belarusians because of their countries' involvement in the invasion of Ukraine, with some exceptions for opposition members, students and in humanitarian cases.
