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Chechen militant Zakayev detained and released in Poland
Published: 17 September, 2010, 11:25
Edited: 26 October, 2010, 19:46
Chechen militant envoy Akhmed Zakayev
TAGS: Conflict, Crime, Chechnya, EU, Russia, Politics, Terrorism
Chechen militant envoy Akhmed Zakayev has been released after the Warsaw district court declined the prosecutor's request to hold Zakayev in detention for 40 days.
The court ruling is not final and may be appealed. The Warsaw Prosecutor's Office will most likely consider this case on Monday, spokeswoman Monika Lewandowska said as cited by Itar-Tass. Meanwhile, Zakayev left Poland on Sunday, but, according to his representatives, may return to the country as soon as on Tuesday.
Zakayev arrived in Poland to take part in the so-called World Chechen Congress, which was held near Warsaw on September 16-18. The man is wanted in Russia on charges of taking part in terrorist formations. Interpol has declared Zakayev internationally wanted on Russia’s request.
Following the news of his detention in Poland, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office filed an extradition request.
“Due to the detention of Akhmed Zakayev in Poland and in accordance with the European convention on extradition, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office is currently preparing material with a Polish translation, which will be sent to the Polish authorities for [Zakayev's] extradition to Russia,” the spokeswoman Marina Gridneva told Interfax agency on Friday.
In a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Polish Prosecutor General Andrzej Szeremet assured that Warsaw would act in accordance with international law and Russian-Polish bilateral agreements rather than “under the influence of political factors,” reported Itar-Tass.
“Chaika has guaranteed that if Zakayev is extradited to Russia, all his rights – provided for by international law – will be observed and the court will pronounce a fair judgment,” the body said.
Zakayev was delivered to Warsaw’s district prosecutor’s office in a police car, reported RIA Novosti. Addressing the journalists who were at the scene, he said “Poland is a free country, so I have nothing to hide.” He added that he voluntarily wanted to give testimony over Russia’s accusations and entered the building.
Earlier, his assistant Adam Borowski – calling himself “the honorary consul of the Republic of Ichkeria” in Poland – said Zakayev would appear at Warsaw prosecutor's office on Friday morning.
“Zakayev, accompanied by his lawyer, will present himself at the prosecutor's office at 08:00 (10:00 Moscow time),” he said, cited RIA Novosti. “Zakayev did not arrive to Poland for hiding, Poland is not Akhmed Zakayev's enemy,” Borowski added.
Talking to Polskie Radio (Polish Radio), “the consul” expressed hope that Poland would not get involved in a Russian prosecution.
“I do not believe Poland will deliver him into the hands of the Russians. But due to the thaw in Polish-Russian relations, nothing is certain,” he was quoted as saying.
However, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the decision over Zakayev would be made “in accordance with Polish interests and principles of the rule of law and fairness.”
Talking earlier to a local radio station, Interfax cited, Tusk said that he believed the case was quite simple. “The Russian side insists on the Chechen leader’s arrest. Under the law, Poland has to take action. However, we are not going to fulfill Russia’s ‘orders’,” he stated. While the question of extradition is examined by court, the final decision is made by the Polish Minister of Justice, he added.
Earlier this week, Poland vowed to detain Zakayev if he appeared in Warsaw. It was expected that he might show up in the Polish capital to attend the World Chechen Congress, organized by the leadership of unrecognized Ichkeria.
Moscow stresses militant is internationally wanted
The Russian Foreign Ministry has emphasized that Zakayev, detained on Polish soil, is on the international wanted list.
“We have accentuated the fact that Zakayev is internationally wanted. A respective Russian application is registered with Interpol,” the ministry spokesman Andrey Nesterenko said at a media briefing on Friday.
Russia’s Upper House, the Federation Council, stressed that Poland should comply with Interpol’s recommendations and hand over the Chechen militant envoy to Russia.
“Poland needs to comply with Interpol's prescriptions, although it is clear that Zakayev has a large number of supporters and very serious work will have to be done. Zakayev's fate after his arrest is not so unequivocal,” First Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Aleksandr Torshin told Interfax.
He reminded that not long ago the US designated one of Russia's most wanted men, Doku Umarov, as a terrorist, which is a sign of progress in international cooperation in countering terrorism.
“Interpol's decision on Zakayev is in the same row. Currently, we are cooperating with Poland very closely, including in the law enforcement area,” Torshin added.
According to the official, Poland is interested in extraditing Zakayev. “If such criminals are not extradited to the countries where they committed a crime, then what sort of international solidarity are we talking about?” he said.
No European country, he went on, is insured against terrorism. “If you do not want to have explosions in your country, you should extradite criminals,” Torshin stressed. One of the key values of a democratic state is compliance with the law, and in this particular case Poland has every reason to do so, he said.
Zakayev, the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of “Independent Chechnya-Ichkeria”, was granted asylum in Britain in 2003. In Russia he is accused of a number of grave crimes including terrorism, murder, robbery, banditry and hostage taking. Zakayev, 51, has also been put on the international wanted list for “crimes against life and health, crimes against life and health attempt, kidnapping, organized crime, terrorism,” Interpol’s official website states.
In the nineties, during the first Chechen campaign, he took active part in forming militant groups and led one of them, the so-called “South-Western front”. The Russian prosecution accused the gang of 11 criminal episodes, including an attempt to seize a railway station in the Chechen capital, Grozny. Over 300 policemen – who were guarding the building – were killed in the attack.
Zakayev worked as culture minister and deputy prime minister in the Chechen government in the late 1990s. He fled to Great Britain after Chechen militants were defeated. Russia issued an arrest warrant for the militant in 2001 and sought his extradition on charges of terrorism, but the UK has repeatedly refused the request.
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@Johnx Russians,Chechens,Americans,etc. have own different versions. Who says the true, I don't know. „Maskhadov posted a message on the separatist site stating that Basayev had no foreign bank accounts although US own court documents prove this to be false”-maybe Maskhadov didn't know about every Basaev's bank account while posting this message. As far I know, at the begining of 90's Chechnya had no connections with terrorism. They were normal citizens, who wanted independence, like Lithuanians, etc. The problem of terrorism begun, when Russia were beginning to win with separatists during the 1st war. Than Chechens asked for help its islamic„brothers in faith”including fundamentalists. And than it got out of control so much, that Chechen so-called President was not able to prevent the activity of islamic fundamentalists (at least it is a Chechen version). There is no place here to describe all cruel crimes of Russian soldiers commited in Chechnya, that caused that hatred. Of course, I also know about extremely cruel crimes commited by Chechens on Russians during wars. But certain Chechnyan leaders wouldn't support terrorism, but also couldn't oppose, prevent it. It was such a disorder that such a Basaev could do many things without agreement of Maskhadov. Not every leader of Chechens who fought for independence was a terrorist. The reason of terrorism is a strong frustration connected with a feeling of impotence. I'm not able to judge if it was possible to prevent reasons of Chechnyan terrorism. Maybe recognizing independent Chechnya by Russia in the early 90's, would prevent it. If yes, than current Chechnyan terrorism may be understood as the price payed for the Russian policy targeted on avoiding a desintegration of the RF. Who should I condemn, those who became in certain condition terrorists or those who created reasons of terrorism, especially when I understand the motivation of both sides of a conflict&I'd like to condemn and support both?
@Piotr The KGB linked mafia connections was during Yeltsin period with aligned Oligarchs who travel on Israeli passports and linked to western intelligence. The official Chechen position is that there is no major terrorist influence in Chechnya and just after the Beslan massacre Maskhadov posted a message on the separatist site stating that Basayev had no foreign bank accounts although US own court documents prove this to be false. During the first war and the de facto period Chechens were trained en mass in Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Georgia and Azerbaijan with the government’s full support and that of the separatist government regime which he was part of. Maskhadov did not condemn the incursion into Dagestan that sparked the second war or agree to the conditions that would have prevented it in the first place with the conditions laid out by then PM Putin to extradite Basayev, close his terrorist training camps, and renounce terrorism As far as Georgia and Moldova go other countries were involved in those incidents including by proxy the US and it was the same Georgian ultra-nationalist leader that supported Chechen independence attempted to crush the two regions autonomy. Moldova and Ukraine were also involved in the war that broke out in Moldova at the collapse of the USSR. And they are not involved in international terrorism and organised crime and wishing to extend their borders.
Fred,Poland is not a puppet. Zakajev's case is nothing unusual and accordind to international law he cannot be given away to Russia. Poland respects international law. Have you seen lately, plane from the Smoleńsk catastrophe in which polish president and 96 officials died? Well, here it is http://www.tvn24.pl/ We ask Russia to cover it for few months now but Russians dont feel like doing so. They think its ok that rain is pouring at it al the time. The plane is an evidence in the open investigation.