Warsaw court not to consider Zakaev's extradition in his absence

The Warsaw District Court has ruled not to consider the lawsuit about extradition to Russia of Ahmed Zakaev, former head of the government of the self-proclaimed Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, who was put by Russia on the international wanted list, because he is not in Poland at the moment.

The Court will do it only when Zakaev is in Poland and under an appropriate request arrives from the Russian Federation. The Court's decision may be appealed against within seven days, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Zakaev's advocate Radoslav Bashuk said that he would recommend Zakaev to appeal against the ruling of the Warsaw Regional Court. "I disagree with the today's court decision; it's wrong, and I don't see any reason for the court not to consider this lawsuit," said lawyer Bashuk after the court session.

According to his story, the final decision on whether to appeal against this court ruling or not will depend on Zakaev himself. He also said that if the court overturned its decision, Zakaev would come to Poland.

The lawyer has noted that Zakaev wanted to be present at the trials; however he is now in London, where he settles problems with their documents.