(Russian) Ambassador, 7 others taken hostage in Costa Rica

CNN ^ | May 11, 2007 | AP

[RDTF]

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) -- Police say an armed Uzbek man has taken eight hostages, including the ambassador, at the Russian Embassy in Costa Rica.

Security forces quickly surrounded the building in San Jose, the capital, police spokesman Francisco Ruiz said. Authorities were trying to negotiate with the gunman.

Ruiz said the man, between 17 and 20 years old from Uzbekistan, entered the embassy with his mother and took Ambassador Valery Nikolayenko and four other men and three women hostage. Police were considering the mother a hostage.

The Costa Rica TV network, Telenoticias, reported that the man was apparently upset over the embassy's failure to process some undetermined paperwork.

Telenoticias said the man and his family have lived in Costa Rica for about a year.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Is this the man?

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Maybe he wants to send his mommy back to Uzbek?
Or maybe he wants an audience with Putin?
Or, maybe...HE’S A MUSLIM TERRORIST?
Nah, that can’t be.
Freegards,
Lex

[tazman3]

Darn, I’m out of popcorn.

[colorado tanker]

In that case, offer him a prostitute if he’ll come out quietly. Works every time.

[RDTF]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/05/11/costa.rica.embassy.ap/index.html

Siege ends at Russian Embassy in Costa Rica

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Two men walked out of the Russian Embassy in Costa Rica on Friday under police escort, ending a three-hour standoff with police and the ambassador.

The episode raised fears of a hostage situation, and authorities initially said that a gunman had taken eight hostages.

But Russian Ambassador Valery Nikolayenko told Channel 7 Telenoticias by telephone later that there were no hostages. He said two people seized part of the embassy and several officials inside tried to persuade them to leave.

Immigration spokeswoman Heidi Bonilla told The Associated Press that one of the men in the standoff was Roman Bogdanyans, a 20-year-old Kazakhstan native who arrived in Costa Rica in 2005. Police earlier had described him as being from Uzbekistan.

A family friend, Artur Mitiniani, told Channel 7 that the family had lost $54,000 because of problems with a Russian citizen who Bogdanyans met at the embassy.

Authorities said hostage negotiators had talked with the suspect, and police had surrounded the four-story building, located near several other embassies.

In July 2004, a Costa Rican security guard took several hostages at the Chilean Embassy where he worked in San Jose, eventually killing himself and three embassy employees. The guard, Orlando Jimenez, 54, was upset about a pending transfer.

[pillut48]

Nah—I’m taking bets its those pesky Swiss this time!!

[verum ago]

lol I was going to post almost the same thing:

paging Ivan Filippevich Bauer, paging Ivan Filippevich Bauer...

[thelastvirgil]

Nice little wake-up call for His Eminence Mr. Putin. This is what comes of kissing Iranian ass.

[PAR35]

Could be trick by Kazakhstan.

"one of the men in the standoff was Roman Bogdanyans, a 20-year-old Kazakhstan native who arrived in Costa Rica in 2005. Police earlier had described him as being from Uzbekistan."

The FBI should be contacting you early next week on behalf of the FSB to ask what you knew, and when you knew it.

[JerseyHighlander]

Some hard facts instead of the random pseudo-racist rants on this thread.

1. Russian Embassy is located in the best urban neighborhood in Curridabat, one of the nicer neighborhoods in the capital area. The best bilingual high school, the Bolivian Embassy, and the Indoor Club which is a posh private health club are located within yards of the Embassy.

Address
Curridabat, Lomas De Ayarco Sur, De La
Carretera A Cartago, Primera Entrada, 100
Metros Sur, San Jose, Costa Rica.

Phone: (00 506) 256 9181 or 0-2245-7044
Fax: (00 506) 221 2054

Email: emrusa@sol.racsa.co.cr
Web Site:

2. This has more to do with the Change in Costa Rican foreign Visa law that went into affect last year. This Kazakh and his family are hardly alone in suffering under this onerous protectionist visa law.
http://www.costaricalaw.com/LEGALNET/immigration_law/_immigration_law.php

3. This follow up article states the real reason for this: The kid got scammed out of his family’s life savings by one of the slimeball characters that hang out in the Russian Embassy preying on the naive.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20070511-1652-costarica-hostages.html

4. The kid surrendered peacefully already.

[MindBender26]

What is an “Ern.”

I know what a “Grecian Urns...” but what is an Ern?

[Milwaukee_Guy]

I remember the Moose Limbs kidnapped/ransomed a Diplo-Commie and a murky Commie Agency grabbed a Moose Limb relative and shipped the aforementioned relative’s ear to the kidnappers in lieu of payment.

Negotiations moved along rather nicely at that point!

[NRA2BFree]

Yep, Muslims in Costa Rica. They travel up north and across the Mexican border right into the U.S.

So much for buying a place in Costa Rica! Them doggone Muzzies are everywhere! ;o)

[eleni121]

random pseudo-racist rants

---

You have obviously never heard assorted Central Asian Muslims racist talk against Russians and Russian Orthodoxy. And have never heard or seen of the Muslim attacks on Russian either.

You simply push your pitiful agenda.

[Natchez Hawk]

‘Could be trick by Kazakhstan’

evil nitwits

[Recovering Ex-hippie]

Terrific!!!!

[pmac]

AMEN to that,a terrorist by any other name is STILL a TERRORIST.

[Woodstock]

Reminder to self...Cancel that weekend in Costa Rica

[Chi-townChief]

“You bet ya Stan”

[MIchaelTArchangel]

Or maybe an Uzi-beki-beki-beki—beki-beki-beki-(allahdamit I am outta ammo)-stan