During a working visit to the Syrian Arab Republic, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia held meetings with chiefs of law enforcement and judiciary authorities of the Republic. In particular, Alexander Bastrykin met with Ali Mamlouk, the Division General and Director of the National Security Bureau of Syria; and Muhammad Kanju Hassan, the Brigadier General and Chief of Military Vessels of the Ministry of Defence of Syria.

During the meetings, the parties discussed issues related to interagency cooperation in investigating of crimes against Russian military personnel, as well as international crimes against the civilian population of Syria committed daily by supporters of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation. Also, Alexander Bastrykin visited the Russian air base in Khmeimim, where he had a briefing with military investigators of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia and representatives of law enforcement agencies of the Syrian Arab Republic agreed upon Syrian referral of probes into Russian citizens who had left for the Republic in order to participate on the side of terrorist groups in Syria. The experience of investigating of such crimes that the Investigative Committee of Russia already has will allow the Russian investigators to bring to justice all persons having joined the ranks of terrorist organizations or committed other crimes.

Following the working visit, the parties reached an agreement on preparation of an interagency cooperation agreement.

Official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee of Russia                        S. Petrenko