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Several people recommended that I take my asylum and Interpol defense case to Grossman Young & Hammond, the references for the law firm were extraordinary. The legal fees were covered by an American foundation, on a pro bono basis. A few months later, after the firm achieved the resolution of political asylum in my favor and having defended me before Interpol, I came to see that the referrals were true. However, beyond the high professional level of the firm, I must recognize in attorney Sandra Grossman and her legal team the commitment, sense of accompaniment, warmth, deft political management and the human focus that for those of us in vulnerable situations is vital.
In short, their professionalism and humanity were essential, especially for a case like mine which was highly complicated by having served as the Attorney General of Guatemala and suffering political persecution by the mafia of that country. Being a lawyer we teamed up with Grossman Young and won – the Firm achieved what seemed impossible.
Thelma Aldana and Sandra Grossman meeting with Congressman Eliot Engel after Ms. Aldana received the International Women of Courage Award.
In 2010, my business partners and I became the target of a vicious political persecution by the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías, who ordered the control of and ultimately the elimination of brokerage firms purely for political reasons. The Venezuelan President considered that brokerage firms jeopardized the economic system that he called “Socialism of the XXI century.” At the time, I was President of the Board of Directors of Grupo de Empresas Econoinvest a Holding and Public company. COB and Executive Director of Econoinvest Casa de Bolsa, C.A., the largest investment company in Venezuela at that time, Vice President of the Caracas Stock Exchange and President of The Venezuelan Brokers Association. Acting under the complete control of the executive branch, special police forces arbitrarily and unlawfully detained my business partners. As was later recognized by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and by the U.S. Department of State in their Venezuelan country reports, my business partners were held in violation of their basic human rights and in violation of their right to personal liberty and due process under the law. The Venezuelan courts also ordered that an Interpol Red Notice be issued against me personally. In 2012, after numerous filings with the Commission for Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF) in Lyon, France, Sandra Grossman and her team were able to obtain deletion of the Red Notice. The CCF wrote that after re-examining Ms. Grossman’s legal arguments and evidence, it considered that the case against me was “predominantly political in nature and consequently fell within the scope of Article 3 of Interpol’s Constitution.” The information about me was permanently deleted from Interpol’s files. The CCF’s decision constituted firm confirmation that the Red Notice against me had been issued by weak, provisional judges who executed arbitrary criminal proceedings against me in violation of my human rights. Ms. Grossman’s assistance, her utter dedication to my case, her knowledge of international human rights law, and her unwavering advocacy were critical in my success before Interpol. I would highly recommend her and her team in any related proceedings.
I am a dual Venezuelan and U.S. citizen and well-known pediatric cardiologist/neonatologist who has dedicated his life and career to treating acutely and chronically ill vulnerable children. In 2008, I became the unfortunate victim of a massive persecution instigated by the Venezuelan state. Though its subjugated court system, the media, and the executive branch itself, the government of Venezuela set out to violently, needlessly, and cruelly destroy my reputation and the reputation of my medical associates. Their purpose was clear: to divert attention from Venezuela’s own failing public health system and to blame the nation’s medical failings on a group of doctors labeled as “elitist,” “westernized,” and non-patriotic because they were educated in the United States, employed in a private hospital, and of the Jewish faith. The Venezuelan state further persecuted me through the machinery of INTERPOL, by issuing a request for a Red Notice. Because of this illegitimate and persecutory action I could not return to Venezuela, lest I be arrested and jailed unlawfully for a crime I did not commit. I could not travel abroad or even seek citizenship in the U.S. because of the INTERPOL notice against me. Very fortunately, I was able to locate and retain attorney Grossman who filed a claim with Interpol arguing that the Red Notice stood in clear violation of my dignity and human rights. Attorney Grossman’s keen understanding of my case, her dedication, and her knowledge of international law and INTERPOL procedure, ultimately led to a decision by INTERPOL in 2014, that all data against me failed to comply with Interpol’s rules. Interpol deleted from their databases the negative data against me. Today I can travel the world freely and I am a proud U.S. citizen. I highly recommend Ms. Grossman to anyone having the unfortunate and terrible experience of being illegitimately accused of a crime by an authoritarian and abusive government.
I am a successful entrepreneur who was forced to flee my home country, Russia, after I was targeted with bogus, politically-motivated criminal charges by the Russian government. Even though there was zero basis for the case against me, the Russian government requested a Red Notice in my name and turned my life into a nightmare. I applied for asylum in the United States, and naively believed that I was safe. I was then detained by US immigration authorities for months, purely due to the Red Notice. I tried for well over a year through another firm to remove the Red Notice but my claim was denied by Interpol. I hired Grossman Young & Hammond and they took a deep dive into the facts of my case and helped me to identify the evidence needed to demonstrate how I had been wronged. They were able to request a review of my case with Interpol, presenting new evidence and arguments, and finally persuaded Interpol that the Red Notice was not legitimate. Achieving the deletion of the Red Notice was a huge vindication for me. I am forever grateful to Sandra Grossman and Meg Hobbins for their incredible insight and tenacity that brought me justice.
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