Exiled Chechen leader back in London after Polish ruling

EXILED CHECHEN separatist leader Akhmed Zakayev has returned to London after Poland declined a request from Russia to extradite him on charges of murder, kidnapping and terrorism.

Mr Zakayev was granted political asylum by Britain in 2003, and the UK authorities have rejected Russian demands for his extradition. Denmark also refused similar requests from Moscow after detaining Mr Zakayev during a conference there on Chechnya’s bid for independence.

The former actor handed himself over to Polish prosecutors last Friday after arriving in Warsaw for a similar conference to push the restive region’s bid for sovereignty.

“Mr Zakayev is free. He has the right to go where he pleases,” said Polish court spokesman Wojciech Malek. “The court has not imposed any restrictions on him.” Judge Piotr Schab explained that Mr Zakayev’s status in Britain afforded him protection in Poland from Russia’s extradition request.

“It is clear that a decision by any member state has the same effect across the entire European Union,” he said.

The urbane Mr Zakayev (51) is critical of radical Chechen rebels who have become increasingly influenced by Islamist extremism, and represents a more moderate strand of the separatist movement that wants talks with Moscow. He is a friend of actor Vanessa Redgrave, who campaigned on his behalf and paid his bail when he was arrested in London.

After the court released him, Mr Zakayev said his arrest had been caused by a “misunderstanding” on Moscow’s part that it could pressure Poland into deporting him.

He said the ruling meant that Poland was now “one more country in Europe has rejected the silly charges that Russia has been pushing for the past 10 years” and claimed the decision showed that “everything that Russia said to Poland was nonsense.” “Poland is a democratic country ruled by the law,” Mr Zakayev declared. “Poland has shown that politics can be separated from the law.” Mr Zakayev was freed in time to attend the so-called World Chechen Congress which he said would push for “international support for Chechen-Russian talks.” “In the future we also want an international tribunal on Chechnya to be established,” he added.

There was no immediate Russian response to the court ruling, but the decision could complicate a tentative rapprochement between Moscow and Warsaw and the planned visit to Warsaw later this year of Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.