Extradition To Take Two Years. Proceedings on Handover of Akhmed Zakayev Have
Begun
London -- Today [31 January].
Vice Premier of Ichkeria Akhmed Zakayev will appear before a London magistrates
court, where the first full hearing of the case on his extradition to Russia
will take place. I should mention that the Russian Federation General
Prosecutor's Office has charged Mr Zakayev with banditry and terrorist activities.
On the eve of the proceedings, the UK Home Office [Internal Affairs Ministry]
included Russia in the list of certified parties to the European Convention
on the Suppression of Terrorism, which considerably simplifies the process
to extradite persons accused of terrorist activities. And it was yesterday
that UK Home Secretary David Blunket signed an order to start extradition proceedings
against Mr Zakayev.
Officially, today's hearing of the case against Akhmed Zakayev at London's
Bow Street Magistrates Court will be the third, but the previous two were
purely formal in nature. At the 11 December hearing, Mr Zakayev was
read the charges against him and at the 9 January hearing (which the vice
premier of Ichkeria did not even attend) the judge acceded to the prosecution
request to be given extra time to examine documents that had been received
from Moscow. So only today will Judge Timothy Workman set about examining
the case in earnest.
The hearing will begin with an announcement by UK Home Office representatives
of its decision on whether or not to launch extradition proceedings.
If they are launched, Akhmed Zakayev's fate will be decided by the court but if
they are not the Russian Federation General Prosecutor's Office request
for his extradition will be turned down immediately.
I should mention that the Russian prosecutor's office charged Akhmed Zakayev
on 11 counts pertaining to the first Chechen war of 1994- 1996. These
are the same charges that the Danish judicial system found to be groundless
in early December -- not least because of the September 1996 amnesty by
which the Russian State Duma had already quashed them.
Clearly, in order to right this wrong, Sergey Fridinskiy, deputy Russian
Federation general prosecutor, arrived in London in early January with certain
additional materials on the "Zakayev case" for the British. Mr Fridinskiy
had a series of meetings at the Home Office and Crown Prosecution Service,
during which, Kommersant was informed at the Russian Federation Embassy,
the British "expressed satisfaction both at the content of the submitted
materials and their drafting." On the basis of the outcome of his talks
in London, the Russian Federation deputy general prosecutor stated that
"Russia has a pretty good chance" of securing the handover of Akhmed Zakayev.
In the opinion of several lawyers, the odds improved considerably yesterday.
Right on the eve of the "Zakayev case" hearing, the UK Home Office officially
included Russia in the list of certified parties to the European Convention
on the Suppression of Terrorism of 1977. Under Article III of this convention,
charges of terrorism cannot be vindicated by political motives, and this
is exactly what Mr Zakayev intends to do in court (see interview).
Meantime, the well-known human rights campaigner [and Soviet dissident],
Vladimir Bukovsky, who stood Mr Zakayev's bail to get him released from
custody when he arrived in England, stated to your Kommersant correspondent
that if the UK Home Office acts in strict accordance with European laws,
it should stop the extradition proceedings right now at today's court hearing.
"The entire European Union, in the person of the Danish judicial system,
found Zakayev's guilt not to be proven," the human rights campaigner
reminded us. "There are laws and agreements that cover this. Therefore,
in accordance with the law, the UK Home Office should immediately reject
the Russian request for Zakayev's extradition."
In connection with this, Mr Bukovsky remarked that as "Moscow is putting
significant political pressure" on the British authorities, the Home Office
will nevertheless start extradition proceedings against the vice premier
of Ichkeria (this is exactly what happened today -- Kommersant). In that
case, the human rights campaigner stated, "a long court case will begin
with many appeals" which "will drag on for about two years."
The interests of the UK Home Office (and by extension those of the Russian
Federation General Prosecutor's Office) are represented in court by Crown
Prosecution Service attorney Alison Reilly. Akhmed Zakayev is being defended
by world-famous British lawyer Gareth Pierce. She became famous in
1989 for securing the acquittal of the "Guildford four" -- four Irishmen
falsely accused of organizing terrorist acts and belonging to the Irish
Republican Army, who had already served 15 years for this. A Hollywood film
("In the Name of the Father") has even been made about Ms Pierce, in which she
is played by the actress Emma Thompsom. The disgraced Russian oligarch,
Boris Berezovskiy, has expressed a willingness to pay for Akhmed Zakayev's
defense.
Your Kommersant correspondent has learned that in the near future a question will
be asked in the British parliament about the purpose of Sergey Fridinskiy's
lengthy stay in London (the Russian Federation deputy general prosecutor
has been in the British capital since the beginning of January). The MP's
want to find out whether pressure is being put on the British judiciary
in this case. In connection with this, Vladimir Bukovsky remarked that
"Duma deputies too ought to inquire how much Mr Fridinskiy's month-long
stay in London has cost the Russian taxpayer."