THE HAGUE, (PNA/Itar-Tass) — The Russian Embassy in the Netherlands is “deeply concerned” about the incident that occurred with counselor Dmitry Borodin.
“The unacceptable treatment of police officers towards the diplomatic agent is a harsh violation of international law, including the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” the embassy said in a statement.
“October 8, Russian Embassy in the Netherlands handed over a note verbale to Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands which requires, inter alia, to apologize to the embassy and D.A. Borodin and his family in person, to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident and inform the embassy about its results, including the names of the police officers involved in it, and to bring to justice the perpetrators,” the document says. The embassy reported that “later on Tuesday, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is in constant contact with the Embassy of Russia, confirmed that the investigation into the incident is being conducted, and the Russian Federation will be informed about the results in the near future.”
The Russian embassy reminded that “October 5, 2013, in The Hague late at night four people dressed like the police broke in the apartment where the Minister-Counselor of the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands Dmitry Borodin and his family live.”
“Under the pretext that they want to specify information about an accident involving his wife, they forced open the door, and then accused him of child abuse. Dmitry Borodin said that he was a member of the diplomatic staff of the Embassy of Russia, a counselor, and informed that appropriate charges were groundless, and that the said persons may not invade the house of a diplomat,” the embassy said.
“However, the four persons entered the apartment despite the protests of Borodin. The latter was then subjected to tough enforcement measures with use of physical force, including the use of batons. Without any explanation, a diplomat was handcuffed and taken to the police station. Within hours, Borodin was in police custody, while he was not allowed to contact the embassy to inform the consular officer what had happened,” the document says.
“As it turned out, his two children, aged 4 and 2 years old, were also forcibly taken to the police station, where they spent the night. Around 3:00 a.m., October 6, Dmitry Borodin was released along with the children, and the police did not give any explanation or apology,” the Russian embassy said.
Local media have not commented on the incident, reporting only about the fact of the incident.