The vice-speaker of the State Duma, who is under sanctions, was being treated in Switzerland

The Deputy Speaker of the State Duma, Alexander Babakov, was able to go to Switzerland for treatment twice, despite the sanctions imposed against him, reports “Agentstvo”.

According to the merged correspondence of the deputy studied by the publication, the first time the State Secretariat for Migration Affairs of Switzerland officially allowed Babakov to enter the country for treatment in June 2019, the second time – in May 2021 to “pass a scheduled examination.” It is noted that the official’s removal of restrictions did not apply to other countries of the Schengen zone.

It is not known whether Babakov used the permission to enter. He and his representative did not comment on the information published by the Agency. The Swiss State Secretariat for Migration informed the publication that exemptions from sanctions are possible on diplomatic or humanitarian grounds.

• In 2014, Alexander Babakov was included in the sanctions list of the European Union and Canada for supporting the annexation of Crimea. In March 2022, Great Britain introduced sanctions against the official – in connection with the recognition by the State Duma of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics.
• In September of the same year, the United States, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, New Zealand, and Ukraine added Babakov to the sanctions list in response to the Russian authorities’ recognition of “fictitious referendums” and “annexation of Ukrainian territories by occupation forces.”
• In 2015, State Duma deputy Iosif Kobzon underwent treatment in the European Union, despite the ban on entry. Then he said that he received a visa thanks to the request of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.