Fearing extradition, Chechen leader declines invitation to seminar in Finland

Ahmed Zakayev

Heidi Hautala

Johannes Koskinen

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Ahmed Zakayev, special representative of deposed Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov, has decided not to take part in a seminar on Chechnya organised by Finland's Green League party. He said that he was worried that Finnish officials might hand him over to Russia.
      Zakayev is a wanted man in Russia, where he faces charges of terrorism. Denmark has judged him innocent of terrorism, and Britain has granted him political asylum, even though he has an Interpol arrest warrant on him.
      Heidi Hautala, chairwoman of the Greens' Parliamentary group, said that organisers of the seminar had been in touch with Finnish officials, who were unable, or unwilling to guarantee Zakayev's safe entry and departure.
      The organisers were in touch with Minister of Justice Johannes Koskinen (SDP), who said that he could not guarantee Zakayev's safe return to Britain.
      "If he were to come, and if Russia were to make an extradition request, it would be completely impossible to say in advance how we would respond, considering that we do not know the reasons for such a request", Koskinen said on Thursday.
      Koskinen also noted that Russia has presented extradition requests concerning Zakayev to various countries, and that each time they have contained more information. Therefore, Koskinen emphasises that Finland's cautious stance does not mean that Finland would be more deferential toward Russia than, say, Norway, where Zakayev visited recently.
     
Ahmed Zakayev made headlines over two years ago when he took part in a Chechnya seminar in Copenhagen. Danish police arrested him on the basis of the Russian Interpol warrant.
      After more than a month of investigation, Denmark released him over Russia's strenuous objections.
      Next, he went to Britain, where he was released while awaiting trial, with the help of bail posted by actress Vanessa Redgrave.
      Russia claims that Zakayev has taken part in terrorist activities in 1996 - 1999 and was involved in the planning of taking hostages. A court in Britain declared that the claims were without foundation, and ruled that he would probably be tortured if he were sent back to Russia.
     
Zakayev moved around the EU quite freely on a British travel document. However, maters became more complicated in November when he was to have taken part in a meeting of the Russian organisation of soldiers' mothers, and the pro-independence Chechen government in exile in Brussels.
      According to Belgian news reports, Foreign Minister Karel de Gucht advised Zakayev to stay in London, because his presence in Belgium might have endangered the Foreign Minister's planned visit to Moscow.
      Zakayev visited Norway late last year without incident. Afterwards, Russia demanded an official explanation. The gist of the response was reportedly that the issue was a Norwegian matter, and of no concern to Russia.
      In practice, the Norwegians decided to look the other way when the wanted man entered the country, because the warrant was seen as groundless.
      Interpol as an organisation does not evaluate the merit of arrest warrants submitted by its member countries.
     
Former Green MEP, renowned civil liberties lawyer Matti Wuori says that the Finnish organisers of the seminar were in touch with both Koskinen, as well as various officials of the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
      The Foreign Ministry reportedly would not have had anything against Zakayev's visit, although it is the body that would later have had to respond to the likely Russian complaint over the visit.


Links:
  Chechnya news: Ahmed Zakayev visits Norway
  Chechnya news: Belgium vows to return wanted Chechen to UK

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