Senators press Russia to release imprisoned officer

By Jordain Carney, August 21, 2015, 02:12 pm, Source

A bipartisan group of senators is pressuring Russian President Vladimir Putin to release an imprisoned Estonian police officer, after meeting with officials in that country.

"We are deeply troubled by Russia's continued illegal detention of Mr. [Eston] Kohver and call on the Russian Federation to comply with its international obligations by immediately releasing him and guaranteeing his safe return to his family in Estonia," Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said on Friday

The three senators are in Estonia meeting with top officials, including Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, to discuss the impact of a resurgent Russia on the region's national security.

McCain's office suggested that Kohver's detention was an "important component" of the talks with Estonian officials. Kohver was sentenced earlier this week to 15 years in a Russian prison, after he was arrested by Russian officials last year on what the Estonian government and the European Union say was Estonian soil.

Russia accused Kohver of spying inside of Russia, but the senators on Friday called his conviction "illegitimate."

"[These] are clear provocations by Vladimir Putin and demonstrate his complete disregard for international law and standards of behavior," they added.

Friday's comments aren't the first time senators have criticized Putin's human rights record or suggested that he's violating international law.

Tensions between U.S. and Russian officials have been running high since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in early 2014. U.S. officials and lawmakers have accused Putin of supporting separatist fighters inside Ukraine, but he denies those accusations.