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"I did not ask for political asylum in London," Zakayev
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LONDON,
December 6 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Chechen envoy Akhmed
Zakayev, who is wanted by Russia on alleged terrorism charges, was in
London on Friday, December 6, where he was arrested at Moscow's
request only four days after his release from jail in Denmark.
One
of Zakayev's supporters told a Moscow radio station that Zakayev was
seeking political asylum in Britain but the envoy denied the report.
"I
did not ask for political asylum in London," Zakayev told Agence
France-Presse (AFP) over the phone from the British capital.
Zakayev,
43, a top aide to Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov, was arrested on his
arrival at London's Heathrow airport Thursday night, then released on
bail pending a court appearance, the Home Office said.
"We
can confirm that at Russia's request Akhmed Zakayev was provisionally
arrested when he arrived pending receipt of a formal request for his
extradition," a Home Office spokeswoman told AFP.
Russia
has 40 days to formally submit an extradition request, the spokeswoman
said.
But
she declined to comment on whether Zakayev had applied for asylum,
saying: "We don't talk about individual asylum cases".
The
Chechen envoy was released by Denmark on Tuesday, December 3,
following 34 days in custody there after the authorities said they had
found no evidence to back Russian terrorism accusations against him.
He
had been arrested as he took part in a Chechen congress in Copenhagen,
in the wake of the Moscow hostage-taking operation by a group of
Chechen fighters in October.
The
decision to free him triggered an angry Russian reaction that has
served to heighten already tense relations between Moscow and
Copenhagen.
In
Portugal where he was attending a meeting of the OSCE pan-European
security body, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov sharply criticized
London for allowing Zakayev to enter the country and compared him to
Osama bin Laden.
Moscow
issued an international arrest warrant against Zakayev in October,
with Russian authorities alleging that the 43-year-old had been
involved in various terrorist acts in the late 1990s.
Zakayev
had been expected to leave Denmark voluntarily because his visa had
lapsed.
Alexander
Goldfarb, head of the Fund of Civil Freedoms that supported Zakayev
throughout the crisis, told Moscow Echo station that both Russia's
extradition request and Zakayev's request for political asylum will be
heard simultaneously by a British court.
The
Chechen envoy is due to appear at Bow Street Magistrates Court in
central London next Wednesday.
"Zakayev
is relying on British justice, since he knows he is not guilty of any
crimes," Goldfarb said.
He
added that Zakayev now was on bail after a bond was paid by British
actress and political activist Vanessa Redgrave, although his Russian
passport was confiscated meaning he cannot leave the country.
Redgrave
told Britain's Sky News television: "I'm his friend, I'm his
guarantor.
"There's
a load of people who care about the Chechen situation and care that
there should be peace for Chechen people and the same is true for
Russian people."
Russia
has accused Denmark, which is wrapping up its six-month turn at the
rotating EU presidency, of political motives in refusing the
extradition.
But
a senior Council of Europe official visiting Moscow flatly dismissed
the charges, laying the blame of Zakayev's release by Denmark on poor
work, and evidence, provided by Russian prosecutors.
"If
(Denmark's refusal) is a reproach, it is a reproach of the Russian
prosecutors for providing insufficient evidence of the charges of
which he (Zakayev) is accused," said Council of Europe deputy
secretary General Maud de Boer-Buquicchio.
