live from moscow this is our t.v. time for you had lines syria says that all attempts to oust the regime have failed but the opposition still seems to be waiting for foreign aid the u.s. led friends of syria meeting for a second time pressure on president assad. beijing level's criticism of washington over its sanctions against countries to keep buying oil from iran the u.s. wants to sculpture on a big income in an attempt to make it abandon its nuclear program. ukrainian shoot

for profits ahead of football's european championships with hotel unflat prices soaring it's fear that some fans might be forced to kick that triple into touch. if you stay with us like right now i'm not saying. something to you what is happening on the streets now is the after forty four day while parts of the county however i totally disagree i don't think the party began . we are still waiting for that stool with the use of to have.

hello again and welcome to spotlight and to the show on art and al gore in our van today my guest christian ballard in hollywood movies we often hear about a mysterious and thrilling thing called witness protection. it gives the witness a new life new identity sense people overseas in exchange for a few words in court. it's all that intriguing in real life of course in many countries the witness protection barely exists or doesn't work well partly due to low international cooperation so what can be done to improve we're asking the europol officer in charge of witness protection power who came to russia to share experience. to one extent or another the witness protection concept exists

in most countries and judicial systems it's usually required during trials against organized crime where defendants were their accomplices meeting timid eight witnesses thanks to hollywood the us to despard action program is the best known in the world it's really very widespread and well developed but the largest witness protection or glance to the europol the e.u. criminal intelligence agency. is a very welcome to the show thank you very much for coming thank you for the invitation rachel for me to be here thanks well at first of all i want to check out with you the recent report that we got on the words today it says that lately the europeans are seeking carp aeration with russia in turns out hiding witnesses under russian territory and that an agreement on this could be signed so is it true and

is such a witness protection program. it may conclude russia realizing so we need a european law enforcement agency and not russia. in the witness protection programs and. then we support the russian federation and get it open with action. and the moment we are far away from. relocate witnesses from the russian federation to a country of european union why serious. we have the rupee law enforcement agency just what we need. to pick a lot mental strength of eyes and harmonize. protection procedures around the world so so the news that witnesses from western europe can be relocated to russia to protection these reports are not true i mean if if. there is

a. country in the rest of europe and the russian federation this can become replacing do you think it makes sense because you see what the reason i'm asking it's very difficult to hide an afro american in the eskimo village it is so it is it is a little bit creepy hour to try and frenchmen or an englishman in siberia well. so to relocate from. one country to another country is always based on principles and started. the sea just and one of the principle is that. one of the reasons is will be placed in another country without having reached an agreement to be placed before it is you totally right to comment that it

will make no sense at all to place somebody who's speaking of the fringe to the very tory of nobles and gives a. made for sense it also needs to be negotiated. with the replacement do business provision units in. relation to take place similarly maybe russian witness from europe maybe really came to russia ground. this this made links and who are also russian business country based in europe if there is since you are here in moscow talking to russians russian counterparts and not as a permit this it mean that you discuss think this witness protection programs and i are you sharing some experience in the russians interested in such program and all . i can tell you that we started this this project from the. agency together with the russian federation started up in two thousand and eight

and it is in the framework of the cooperation agreement that we have with the russian federation based on the strategic agreement that we have the russian federation and russia russian authorities ask europol to support them and to. fictionally was and is a pleasure for us to support and. there were no. such scenes because we are in the opinion that it needs to be harmonized it needs to be standardized and if the russian federation is willing to take over. existing standards that were really. existing in group in trying to do so why not supporting it respect. europe. discuss impose same in us respect this is we tell them. how systems are running

in different countries in the european union and there is no need for the russian federation to reinvent the wheel. there are already countries with a lot of experience in that specific field and our approach is always not you're. telling the russian federation how it should look like because you have to find your own very run business protection program. you're showing you. those different possibilities and you take out of these programs those pieces sits in your regulation i mean can you explain to us the importance of witness protection is it true that a very large percentage of crimes i remain unpunished because of the reluctance of the witnesses to testify in court is no truth and what is that said

yeah the figures. tell your figures that would be very serious but what i can tell you is that the last decades. police authorities around the world are confronted with very different forms of crimes. during pick twenty years it was. very easy but they're easy we have to follow certain procedures to investigate a crime nowadays we are confronted with new technologies we are confronted with facebook we are confronted with. to transfer money from one country to run through to another country is our little place but. it's there so we have to rectify this so that means that especially organised crime and serious crime.

is not to investigate those old crimes therefore we can see protection. to be seen is a cornerstone in the fight against crime until recent because you need somebody from inside of the organisation to justify. only caught. this group is there any country or some countries in europe where the situation is worse in terms of pressure on the witnesses by the criminals or were intimidations you know. there are there is no country in europe we are. in place on the top but. weakness protection is a standard. they must for. all the countries of europe in general and the problem is ok in that sense can you give us an example maybe there is a country where some countries where the witness protection program is the best

example as monday this is a good question because you're easy to answer because there isn't a place to release with actual progress each country has to pay will open its own witness protection program recorded. because the needs are different so for example russian federation has a completely different approach. because for the rest of the european countries with this protection is appalled you is. especially picnicking fight against organized crime and terrorism from. you in the russian federation your approach is also to protect the chuch is to prosecute the brits but take prisoners who are under threat this is not the approach of us you're looking only for for us this witness protection for the most western european countries is witness protection the last time so we're going to fight against organized crime. i know

what charlie would movies you know when a person testifies in court and then he's promised witness protection they tell him we'll change your indenting you'll get a new passport the new how we will and we'll move into a different part of the country and there is a big country the media places to hide a person but i will always start a person has a job you know has a job he makes money he has a family will want somebody to care about if he moves he will most probably lose his job so what is happening in europe and this is getting a sort of. compensation in full for folding is job is good because you lose money anybody had to pay the bills except for. one of the principles in the western european country this week up in witness protection is apparently a fair trial. that requires people to not we cannot compensate replacing face willing to testify in court for a crime has to. be

a very fair trial quote country gleeful right but you're right yes to have. the skills of the. school free of risk it's this will be compensated this is can be but this is based in the majority of the western european countries on the regulations and the bill for you so this is related to you says chris chambers our project coordinator for witness protection had you. hot spotlight will be back shortly after a break so stay with us though the play. elana play. so for assistance a new job the rates of. the roads if you came in for example a thirty eight songs expect. breast cancers more than stands on its

toes conses fourteen times i forget the exact jesus but the shoes there's not nothing that you have ever found in any epidemiological study anywhere ever there is a way that brings victory. to its creator. he's not alone some are more severe than others we have something it is born without skulls without or the least and sometimes with their legs totally dismissed but means death to those from which point is not. understood those who choose to spend it. and the celebrates and they don't realize that stand looking at their own future cuts. on. this is just. so sad.

i have. leakage and i'll show you some extent how much i have leakage. i've had an execution date in believe me oh just table one of the execution date is enough for anybody to go through more later. you know with forty percent of the people here if you have are not. like you know live in order for words like. this it's like you know we execute our convicted capital murder we have the highest execution rate in america we're not afraid to do it we do it well. this becomes a point when. i have no hope. i will get a letter your dad is due to be executed next week there's

a here scary moment for you to know you can lose here i want to be appearing to be in a manner of me saying actually it's time to go see the artwork. and i would lead them into the. best shape. straight after they were to. welcome back to spotlight i'll be a knob and just a reminder that my guest on the show today is christian about where project hard matter for witness protection at europe. is tomorrow we talked about this witness protection program and sharing experience with the russians as a matter of fact how expensive is this realizing of our the witness protection

program how much does every protective witness cost you it does cost that should couple a. pretty significant sum of money. as opposed to before so it was protection. against the rest of the countries. are the last resort in the uk against the us crimes and we cannot reach the goal of several some because we replaced it with pick who will replace it with this particular program so it is protection is a very expensive. special mission from distributions. and therefore the in the european countries limited. our resources recently gotten action means. if you would like if we take somebody replace protection program then he has to fulfill

his superiors how close is the european national police and judiciary how close are they each other and to you in the realization of this. you mean hearing you i mean in europe how closely yes yes the judiciary the police in india. different in a lot of countries so you want a luxury position here in the russian federation of criminal law you have one country one police authority we are not at the luxor a. position in the european union we have thirty seven permafrost around us we have fifty seven different. laws we have a lot of different criminal proceedings therefore it's. not easy to cooperate but in the majority of our countries in europe

it is protection for even the police it's a police mission. police is peter responsible for running such a program that's little different to your country here in the russian federation you have involved a lot of ministry minister of defense finance. state security of its. maybe a point for four people open in the future this point having agreements with europe on russia is not a member of your organization but since you are here i would like to ask you how close are you with the russian police how closely connected and are you are you moving in a direction of becoming. closely tied i mean in a joint fight against against international crime russian federation is an important partner with of for for europe also for the group the law enforcement

agency. it is clear we have a close cooperation with the russian federation state of play right now is that we have currently in place so-called strategic cooperation agreement with the russian federation it means that the cooperate in that way if we exchange strategic data on crimes on trains on you that which is. a force from europe will play russian for the ration and from the russian federation and the wolf was not the agency. we have a close cooperation when it comes to drug related crime of the air we exchange was a strategic data bank and force. and we will have.

and much more closer cooperation in the future research. negotiation on growing between russian federation and europe were some got through rationing agreement and this operational agreement which will be in place. in the future. will allow us and this is a milestone in the cooperation with us this will allow us to cooperate much more closer meaning that we are also allowed him to exchange with your country person rather than our other examples of any joint criminal investigations with the russians is a told you so far we need to pick around us not allowed to have a real criminal investigation speaking of your country and europe because russia is not a hundred is that true russia is we cannot be

a member of the lord because this is for the. it's the name explaining it it's the seven member states of the european union. britain is also a member or is it again britain is britain britain yeah great britain is part of europe so what it does not mean we do not cooperate we have already operational agreements with a lot of countries. and one of the operational agreements will be. in the future also with the russian federation in front went on wards. and we'll sit. on the table and start to investigate together crying in different countries you said you envy the russians because you have a great country a big country and only one. criminal kodiak compared

to you have twenty seven so can you can you tell us how different is the russia and the russian criminal russian practice from yours is it is it a lot different we're all the similar from yeah yeah i mean from from your point of view it's a difficult question because your original thinking austrian so. yeah it is not that much if nothing was done so in principle in principle so all of the road based on the roman law i mean it's pretty much the same same with it which makes it pretty easy for you to. come and tell grammar and i'm pretty sure from the point of view. it would be no major constraints. and all right what. about the russians do you feel such a thing as witness protection maybe number one of the list of the problems that bet

your rational colleagues to sell because they're not for me reading the newspapers but you also do i don't think. this will be their priority in the upcoming couple of years they do agree. this is a decision taken by the russian authorities what is or will be able to stop a repeat. but if you allow me to tell you my honest answer so president my person in front of you if you would like to be successful in the fight against organized crime serious crime and terrorism you need to have in place was a functioning witness protection program but. in these cases after action high ranking officials when they are trying in the court of law how can a witness be sure that relatives or friends or some other contact of

a high ranking official that they will get him anyway and they will not be up to date or wherever he is relocated on whatever how can you guarantee that. it can't be guaranteed to be functional person professional witness protection so this is a chopper forget the protection of it and it would such since they didn't know if you were going to the new house or the new address but it's one of the special picnics we see in a witness protection so therefore it is recommended to have a high standard functioning witness protection program in place so you want to say that in this respect the police force the tactics that acknowledge we have and they and the law that's on your service is more powerful than the highest ranking officials in the respective countries i mean you do have more power and and you do

have authority over that i mean some sort of information is that true i would say it is. protection program is is not. the authority of a witness protection unit. placed on. the iraqi. police are going to say shall administer therefore. if it is located if we would like to have it in this. the ritual of the of the case is. placed in the really high level ministries of justice to know the three guests are there for they would put those witness protection and i think this will. give information give this information in your head a witness going to be sure that believe what takes place except thank you thank you sir thank you very much and just to remind you that my guest today was pristine

ballard project coordinator for witness protection at the rope and that's a problem i think if you want to have yourself spotlight we have someone in mind to your pain patient to an extent good drop me a line out at r.t. t.v. dot party you know and let's keep spotlight interact we'll be back with more for some comments on what's going on in and outside russia until then stay and r.t. and take you think you can push us placebo most of the time.

fifty. feet.