UMSL grad. student detained in Russia
Published Aug. 24, 2007
A UM-St. Louis graduate student has been detained in Russia for more than two months after being arresting for purchasing souvenirs that were deemed contraband.
Roxana Contreras, 29, was passing through customs on June 14 when officials stopped her because she had old military medals and outdated currency that was purchased from a street vendor.
Contreras visited Russia after presenting her research at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, Germany.
Her research involves observing the synchronization in brain activity in patients with brain trauma, UMSL Center for Neurodynamics Director Sonya Bahar said.
Taking old coins and old military medals out of the country or purchasing them in the country is illegal in Russia, Bahar said, and Contreras said she was unaware of this law.
Vendors sell these medals by the hundreds on the street, she said.
"There was a policeman standing about a block away," Bahar said. "Why weren't these police stopping (the vendors)?"
Attempting to bring the purchases, which Bahar said were estimated by the Ministry of Culture in Moscow at $30, out of Russia carries a maximum penalty of seven years in a Russian jail.
Upon finding the items in Contreras' luggage, Russian authorities canceled her flight and pulled her into a room of about 10 customs investigators, who proceeded to yell at her in Russian, Bahar said.
Contreras, who is a citizen of Chile, was told not to contact the Chilean consulate in Russia.
On June 21, Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., wrote the first of two letters to Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov about the situation.
"Of course the right of Russia to protect its national heritage is clear and undeniable," Akin said. "There are many at the university who vouch for the integrity of Ms. Contreras and who are convinced that this incident is the result of an unfortunate error."
The Russian embassy did not reply until July 5, when a member said in a phone call that Contreras had been released.
Supporters soon learned Contreras had not been released, but rather is still facing charges and potential jail time.
Akin's spokesman Steve Taylor said the situation seems to be an unequal application of the law.
In other Russian cities, items such as Contreras' are confiscated, but the owner is never detained.
Bahar said Contreras' family and friends chose not to immediately publicize the situation because any spread of information or message of support for the student seemed to make matters worse.
On Aug. 20, they decided to release a statement to the press, shortly after Contreras was finally given a court date, which had been delayed for over two months.
Since then, the process seems to have sped up, Bahar said.
On Wednesday, Russian authorities set a court date at 10 a.m. on Aug. 28 in the small town of Ramon, which lies outside of Voronezh.
The Chilean ambassador and consul to Russia are expected to attend the hearing.
Meanwhile, supporters of Contreras fear for her safety, because Voronezh has been known as a dangerous city, especially for foreigners, Bahar said.
She said Contreras has informed her that she is often scared to leave her apartment, where she must live before the trial.
"Her heart is just a purely good heart," Bahar said. "She's the last person on the planet who would deliberately try to break a law."