Chechen nationalist Leader Faces Extradition from UK

06/12/2002| IslamWeb

Top Chechen nationalist envoy Akhmed Zakayev, arrested on Thursday as he arrived from Denmark at London's Heathrow airport, will face an extradition hearing next week, police said on Friday. Zakayev, aide to fugitive Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov, is wanted by Russia for alleged terror crimes between 1996-99.

"He was taken to a west London police station and later released," a statement from London's Scotland Yard police service said.

He is due to appear at a London magistrates' court on Wednesday to face Russia's extradition warrant. His precise whereabouts on Friday were unknown.

British government officials declined to either confirm or deny media reports that Zakayev was seeking political asylum.

Zakayev was released on Tuesday after spending 34 days in prison in Denmark -- the current European Union president -- while authorities examined Russia's request for his extradition.

The Danish Justice Ministry decided that evidence provided by Moscow was insufficient to warrant handing him over.

Zakayev went to Denmark in late October to attend a conference for exile Chechens held just days after a suicide squad of Chechen fighters took hundreds of people hostage in a central Moscow theater. Some 129 hostages died after Russian forces stormed the theater to end the siege.

Russia, which regards Maskhadov, Zakayev and other Chechens fighting for independence for their province as terrorists, issued an international arrest warrant for Zakayev via Interpol and Danish police detained him on October 30.

After Zakayev's release this week, his Danish lawyer said the Interpol arrest warrant remained valid and that police in any country where Zakayev may arrive could feel obliged to detain him.

PHOTO CAPTION

This 1996 file photo shows senior Chechen official Akhmed Zakayev at an undisclosed location in Chechnya . Zakayev was arrested Thursday Dec. 5, 2002 in London after flying into London's Heathrow airport from Denmark. Zakayev wanted by Russia officials on charges of murder and armed rebellion, was released on bail Friday Dec. 6, 2002 after his arrest by British authorities at Moscow's request. (AP Photo/ File)