News

On Monday, Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin visited the Syrian Arab Republic, where he had a meeting with Ali Mamlouk, the Division General and Director of the National Security Bureau of Syria; and Hisham al-Shaar, the Minister for Justice of the Syrian Arab Republic.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the current level of cooperation of the Investigative Committee with Syrian law enforcement agencies on investigation of crimes of the terrorist nature, as well as committed against Russian military officers and infrastructure located in the country.

The host party noted that the interagency coordination level had significantly increased, including that within the framework of the Protocol on Cooperation signed by the Investigative Committee of Russia and the Committee on Terrorist Crimes Recording of the Ministry for Justice of Syria. The IC’s Syrian peers also said that there still was a need to further develop and strengthen the legal cooperation, particularly in order to record traces of crimes and then present them to international criminal institutions, despite an increase in the number of territories liberated from terrorists.

The parties agreed upon establishing of cooperation in science and education, including holding of joint forums and conferences on relevant matters of mutual interest, as well as in criminal proceeding.

While in Damascus, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia also met with Alexander Zhuravlev, the Commander of the Group of Forces of the Russian Federation in Syria. They discussed the military cooperation between Russia and Syria. Alexander Bastrykin highlighted Alexander Zhuravlev’s important contribution to deescalating of the situation in the Republic and thanked him for securing the safety of investigators working abroad and for his assistance to them.

Having arrived to the Russian air base in Khmeimim, Alexander Bastrykin held a briefing, where he listened to reports on progress and results of probes of the Investigative Committee, as well as on terrorism and offences against Russian officers on their military duty in the Syrian Arab Republic.

During the working trip, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia presented awards to outstanding investigators. Institutional decorations of the Investigative Committee were also awarded to General Ali Mamlouk, Colonel General Alexander Zhuravlev, and Russian military officers. To those who were serving far from home, Alexander Bastrykin wished to keep the strong spirit, to gain success in their duty, and to come back to the Fatherland safely.

Official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia S. Petrenko