Exporting Of Items.

[Tretov]

Originally Posted by Yeti

When they sell them to tourists in markets made for tourists I think that it is without saying that they will be taken over the borders. I'm not saying that it is illegal to sell them, just that the law will be broken very
soon after they are sold. It must become very tiresome to hunt tourists with jubilee medals in their bags at the airport.

/Erik

I cannot see what is tiresome, the awards are detected at security control, the person is simply taken aside and the process is initiated. That is what they are paid to do

[willie777]

Well, you can always bribe the customs agent... Or disassemble the medallion from the suspension and but it in your coin wallet.

[HuliganRS]

Story from: Foreigner Held Over Soviet Medals

A Chilean student has been detained in Voronezh for more than two months after customs officials found old currency and several Soviet medals she bought from a street vendor.

Roxana Contreras, 29, faces up to seven years in prison, her supporters say. She "acquired U.S.S.R. state honors illegally" and attempted to export them, Voronezh court documents say.

Supporters say Contreras, a physics graduate student from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, was visiting friends in Voronezh and probably did not realize she was doing anything wrong when she bought the items for $66 and tried to take them on a flight from Voronezh to Munich in mid-June. Customs officials found World War II military medals, old silver coins, and three early 20th-century bank notes, the Regnum news agency reported Tuesday.

"They were being sold by a street vendor, so she had no idea they were not supposed to be taken out of the country," said Sonya Bahar, the director of the Center for Neurodynamics at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

U.S. Representative Todd Akin, who represents Missouri in Congress, has written to Russian Ambassador Yury Ushakov inquiring about the case.

Russia's right to protect its national heritage is "undeniable," he wrote. "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. It is my understanding that in similar cases contraband is rightfully confiscated, but that individuals are usually detained only for grave offenses."


In a follow-up letter, Akin wrote that the ambassador's office told him by telephone that Contreras had been released. Her supporters said authorities were still detaining her while she waited for a court date, however.

Phone calls to the Russian Embassy in Washington went unanswered.

A woman who picked up the phone at the Chilean Embassy in Moscow said no one was available for comment Tuesday.

Prosecutors in the Voronezh district where Contreras faces trial declined to comment.

Attempts were also made to reach Contreras.

Bahar has asked university officials, academics and politicians to vouch for Contreras' character, but she fears the outside support may have unintended consequences.

"Whatever we seem to be doing to try and help seems to be making it worse," she said.

Contreras has hired a lawyer and rented an apartment. Russian officials have been reluctant to keep renewing Contreras' visa, but a judge there refused to write a letter explaining the situation to help, her supporters said. They are concerned she will be in further violation of the law if her visa expires.

Contreras, who previously studied in Russia, is trying to improve her language skills and bought a guitar to pass time.

"Some days she's all right," Bahar said. "Other days she's just devastated."

Contreras' boyfriend, Fred Scherrer, 41, of St. Louis, said, "She has been put on, we would call it, city arrest."

He said officials wanted to be able to reach her at all times.

He thinks the items may have been intended as a gift for him, but said neither he nor his girlfriend collected medals or currency.

"We don't understand it from an American point of view. Why would they detain a traveler for two months?"

AP, MT

[EricFG]

Wow. Two months in the can and counting......for $66 worth of stuff?

[Kirchgoens]

Hmmm... One could read a bit of news, then read a bit of history, and finally draw some conclusions...

[DougD]

Well, not making and judgments about the situation, but you can expect a very tough 'law and order' approach when this is your President on the front page of your national newspaper : )

DougD

[Riley1965]

AHHH, the return of Soviet Russia!!! I knew that Putin would be trouble.

Doc

[EricFG]

Not too surpringing Putin's response to the actions of his peers in the West when ya think about it.
Having said that political discussions on forums such as this are generally not a good thing. Let's go back to what really matters in this world; OD&Ms.
I won a small goodie on eBay tonight. If it ever shows up I'll post a pic.

[DougD]

Yes,lets keep the politics / debates out...thats why i said not to make any judgments, but its a heck of a photo : )

DD

[Riley1965]

Guys...EASY!!! It's just an observation. GEEZ...I just feel for this poor student. I'm NOT thrilled with my Governments policy on U.S. medals either!!! But, for those who missed the obvious...This thread is political. Now back to ODMs

Doc