Britain Won't Send Chechen Back to Russia
MOSCOW — In a blow to Russia's bid to cast itself as a partner in the global war on terrorism, a British judge Thursday refused to extradite Chechen envoy Ahmed Zakayev, whom Russia has accused of kidnapping and murder in the breakaway republic.
The decision, which can be appealed, brought immediate condemnation from the Russian Foreign Ministry, which denounced it as "a serious blow" to Russia's partnership with Britain, "especially in the field of anti-terrorist interaction."
It was a potentially embarrassing ruling for President Vladimir V. Putin, who has sought to portray Russia as an ally of the U.S. and Britain in combating Islamic extremism, frequently comparing the suicide bombings, kidnappings and ambushes launched by Chechen rebels in Russia with Al Qaeda terrorist attacks against targets in the United States and Middle East.
Senior District Judge Timothy Workman dismissed claims brought by the Russian Federation and said he feared for Zakayev's safety if he was handed over.
"I have come to the inevitable conclusion that if the [Russian] authorities are prepared to resort to torturing witnesses, there is a substantial risk that Mr. Zakayev would himself be subject to torture," the judge said.
Human rights groups applauded the ruling, noting that Chechen prisoners have died in Russian and Chechen jails.
"Torture and ill treatment in Russian police cells, as well as the harassment of ethnic Chechens, are common, and as the representative of Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov, Mr. Zakayev would have been particularly vulnerable," London-based Amnesty International said in a statement.
In Moscow, parliamentary deputy Sergei Kovalyov told the Interfax news service it was "absolutely obvious" that evidence against Zakayev had been obtained under torture. Kovalyov, an opposition politician and human rights activist, said the case, along with the recent arrest of former Yukos Oil Co. Chief Executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky, demonstrates that "extremely worrisome processes are taking place in Russia."
Zakayev, a 44-year-old former stage actor, was named deputy prime minister of Chechnya under the government elected in 1997, and became Maskhadov's envoy in peace negotiations after being injured in the early years of the Chechen war.
A new Chechen president, Akhmad Kadyrov, took office last month after elections heavily overseen by Russian troops, and Maskhadov is commanding a small number of guerrillas committed to ousting Russian forces from the war-battered republic.
