OREANDA-NEWS The head of the Russian Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, says Russian investigators need to be able to initiate criminal cases abroad to protect the interests of Russians.

"It would be practical to consolidate the possibility for Russian investigators to initiate criminal cases when a crime is committed outside the Russian Federation that affects the interests of our state or a citizen, regardless of the results of the criminal prosecution of a person or the court's decision in a foreign jurisdiction," Bastrykin said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.

He added that this would ensure effective protection of the interests of Russia and its citizens from criminal encroachments outside the country.According to Bastrykin, there have been many cases when Russian citizens became victims of crimes in other countries, but local justice was often very forgiving with regard to the citizens of their country, giving out rather lenient sentences or ignoring some important circumstances.