In 2008, Igor and Irina Bitkov, along with their daughter Anastasia, fled Russia in fear for their lives. Having seen their successful company bankrupted in a textbook raider scheme, their daughter kidnapped and raped, and facing death threats, the Bitkovs took refuge and began a new life with new identities in Guatemala.
The family now finds itself separated, imprisoned in squalid Guatemalan jail cells, and facing nearly twenty years in prison for alleged paperwork irregularities normally punishable by a simple fine. There are grave reasons to question the role of the government of Russia and the UN’s International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in their imprisonment.
“I am deeply concerned about grave injustices suffered by the Bitkov family—brutalized in Russia, now apparently re-victimized in Guatemala, where they languish in jail,” said Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), who chaired the hearing. “Evidence indicating that the government of Russia may have enlisted the UN’s International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala to persecute this family is troubling and must be thoroughly scrutinized.”
The hearing sought answers to key questions: Did the Kremlin enlist CICIG in its vendetta to destroy the Bitkovs? Is this another example of the frightening reach of Putin’s government and its ability to co-opt institutions designed to further the rule of law, as it has Interpol and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties? Has the government of Russia corrupted a UN anti-corruption agency? What does this teach about the government of Russia, the UN, and the global fight against the scourge of corruption?
The Helsinki Commission examined the specifics of the Bitkov case, including Russian influence on CICIG and Guatemala’s Attorney General’s office, and reviewed policy options to protect U.S. taxpayer-supported institutions from abuse and undue pressure from authoritarian governments.
Selection of Additional Materials Submitted for the Record
- Response of William Browder to Questions for the Record Submitted by Rep. James McGovern
- Report: CICIG and the Rule of Law | Ligo ProPatria, Instituto de Servicios a La Nacion, Guatemala Immortal, ProReforma
- Sign-On Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Civil Society Representatives
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Ligo ProPatria, Instituto de Servicios a La Nacion, Guatemala Immortal, ProReforma
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Migration Groups
- Letter to President Maldonado of Guatemala | Bill Browder
- Letter to President Maldonado of Guatemala | Helsinki Commission Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker
- Invitation to Ivan Velasquez to Testify at Helsinki Commission Hearing
- Communication from Loreto Ferrer, CICIG
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | VTB Bank
- Information from RENAP
- Cover Notes from Aron Lindblom,Diakonia Guatemala, Regarding:
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Indigenous Ancestral Authorities of Guatemala
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Christian Council of Guatemala
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Asociation de Mujeres Q’eqchi’es Nuevo Horizonte
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Comite de Unidad Campesina Guatemala
- Letter to the Helsinki Commission | Asociation Grupo Integral de Mujeres Sanjuaneras
- The Wall Street Journal: Kremlin Revenge in Guatemala (March 25, 2018)
- The Wall Street Journal: Russia’s Dubious Guatemala Story (April 15, 2018)
- The Wall Street Journal: A Crisis in Guatemala, Abetted by the U.N. (April 22, 2018)
- National Review: Microscopic Dots. Let’s Look at Them. (April 25, 2018)
- National Review: Why Are They Doing This to the Bitkovs? (April 26, 2018)
- The Economist: A corruption spat in Russia endangers crime-fighters in Central America (April 28, 2018)
- Materials submitted by Victoria Sandoval, criminal and human rights attorney representing the Bitkov family
- Audio: CICIG supports VTB petitions
- Affidavit: Harold Augusto Flores confesses that he was threatened by CICIG
- Medical reports on Anastasia Bitkova issued by the National Forensic Science Institute
- BBC: Inside the ‘world’s most dangerous’ hospital
- Ruling issued by the tribunal presided over by Judge Iris Yassmin Barrios
