of the compensation offered to Ivanov's family. His employer offered the family $50,000 while the U.S. government offered only around $2,000. Galina Skripkina, a lawyer representing Ivanov's widow, described the U.S. offer as "humiliating" and said that if it was not increased the family would take legal action. However, the U.S. embassy stated that this amount was an interim payment and that final compensation would be determined once the investigation into the shooting was concluded. More detailed data about the hearings on the Hatfield case were published in late December 2010 via the web site Russian Reporter, which issued a series of dispatches from the State Department and U.S. embassies, supposedly originating from the WikiLeaks archive. "Junior Sergeant Hatfield was subject to severe administrative measures against him, which will have long-term effects and negatively affect his career," the dispatch stated though criminal charges against Hatfield never went to a military court. According to the dispatch, the officer authorized to initiate court-martial was General Arthur Lichte, a commander at the airbase, who, "after reviewing the report of the Article 32 investigation and considering the advice of his staff judge advocate...dismissed the charge against SrA Hatfield," the dispatch states. It said that Lichte had ruled for a non-prosecution based "on his own professional and impartial judgment of the facts of the case and the evidence that was available." The paper reports that Lichte was given the power of referral because he was not previously involved in the investigation of the case, nor in the chain of command relating to Hatfield. 2009 threat of closure and restructuring On 3 February 2009, Kyrgyzstan's President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced that Manas Air Base would soon be closed. A bill calling for the closure of the base and the eviction of U.S. forces was passed by the Kyrgyz parliament by a vote of 78 to one on 19 February 2009. The following day, 20 February, an official eviction notice was delivered to the U.S. Embassy in Bishkek, according to the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The news of the base's closure followed the announcement of a new agreement between Russia and Kyrgyzstan in which Kyrgyzstan will receive $2 billion in loans and $150 million in financial aid from Russia. Most observers see the two events as connected, and believe that Russian financial assistance was offered on the condition that U.S. forces were expelled from Kyrgyzstan. As of