A district court in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Thursday confirmed the legality of the decision by the country's prosecutor's office to extradite to Russia two Chechens of three being kept in custody in Georgia. The third member of the group was recognized as a refugee registered in Georgia and, in accordance with the international law, he will be tried in Georgia.* Those gathered in the court and representatives of various organizations gathered in the street reacted negatively to the court's decision. The Chechens' defense attorney has said that the court's decision would be appealed in the Georgian Supreme Court.

[13.03.2003 20:02] The Chechen Times
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Comment by Norbert Strade (Yahoo-Chechnya list moderator):

I don't know which parts of international law Georgia recognizes or doesn't recognize today, but it certainly is a clear violation of international law to extradite soldiers to their enemy after they have given themselves up to a third (non-belligerent) party. Not to mention that the extradition of Chechen soldiers to the Russian torture state is the same as a death sentence. Also, though Georgia is under heavy pressure from the Russian side, it should stick to international law for its own sake. The case of Chechnya and Russia's unilateral definition of its borders, in total contempt of signed treaties, ought to be reason enough.