English Court Denies Russian Extradition Request for Chechen Official

On November 13, 2003, an English court denied a request by the Russian Government to extradite Akhmed Zakayev, the Chechen leader the Russian Government has sought to extradite on charges including false imprisonment to murder. The English court concluded that the prosecution was politically motivated and that the risk of torture to Zakayev was significant. Senior District Judge Timothy Workman explained that he believed it was more likely than not that the Russian Government?s extradition was motivated to exclude Mr. Zakayev from continuing to participate in the peace process and to discredit him as a moderate...[more]