by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe
The Hague, Netherlands – The Netherlands has issued a statement apologizing to Russia regarding the arrest and detention of a Russian diplomat by Dutch police at The Hague.
Dutch police have refrained from commenting on the case, but Dutch media reports have cited police documents alleging that Russian Diplomat Dmitry Borodin was detained late on Saturday night after police found him intoxicated and barely able to stand.
Witnesses also stated that Borodin was mistreating his two young children. According to various claims, Borodin was “totally drunk” and had dragged his children by their hair throughout his house and garden. His wife also allegedly collided with several vehicles while driving intoxicated.
Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans stated on Wednesday that an investigation revealed that the arrest of Borodin was a actually a breach of the Vienna Convention that regulates diplomatic relations between nations. Borodin’s arrest violated his diplomatic immunity, also stressed by Timmermans.
For the illegal arrest and detention, “the state of the Netherlands offers the Russian Federation its apologies,” Timmermans stated on Wednesday.
Timmermans also stated that he “understands” the action of the police officers who arrested Borodin, given the development of the situation on Saturday night after reviewing the case.
“They acted in accordance with their professional responsibilities with regard to the situation they found after the report,” Timmermans stated. He added that the Netherlands and Russia “remain in talks” about the incident.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Borodin’s detention “the most gross breach of the Vienna Convention”, and demanded an apology on Tuesday.
Also on Tuesday, the Russian foreign ministry accused Dutch police officers of raiding Borodin’s apartment in The Hague and assaulting him before bringing him to the police station for hours of questioning regarding the accusations.
Relations between the Netherlands and Russia have deteriorated promptly since Russian investigators charged thirty crew members of a Dutch-flagged Greenpeace ship, the Arctic Sunrise, with piracy last week over a protest against Arctic oil drilling.
The Netherlands had responded by launching legal action to free the activists, who face up to fifteen years in jail.
For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Dutch Apologize for Russian Diplomat Arrest – 9 October 2013
BBC News – Dutch Sorry on Russia Diplomat Case – 9 October 2013
Dutch News – The Netherlands Apologize to Russia for Diplomat’s Arrest – 9 October 2013
The Moscow Times – Dutch Apologize to Moscow for Detention of Russian Diplomat – 9 October 2013
