Russia MP accuses US of kidnapping son in Maldives

A Russian lawmaker has accused the United States of kidnapping his son from the Maldives on bogus cyber-fraud charges.

Valery Seleznyov said on Wednesday that Washington may be preparing to offer him as bait in a swap deal for former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden.

“For all I know they may be demanding a ransom tomorrow. Or try to exchange him for Snowden or somebody. One can only wonder,” he said

Thirty-year-old Roman Seleznyov was detained when he was about to board a flight to Moscow.

He was then forced by US secret service agents to board a private plane to Guam.

Russia has slammed his detention as “a de-facto kidnapping”.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it considers the kidnapping “a new hostile move by Washington,” accusing the US of ignoring proper procedure in dealing with suspected foreign nationals.

The Russian MP also said that his son has scant computer skills and could not be involved in any sort of hacking.

Meanwhile, Snowden has formally requested to stay in Russia after the end of July, when his one-year asylum status expires.