21:00, 21 July 2011

In Bulgaria, Court of Appeal refuses to deliver Akhmed Chataev accused of terrorism to Russia

The Bulgarian Court of Appeal granted the petition of Akhmed Chataev, a native of Chechnya, who challenged the legality of his extradition to Moscow.

He is suspected of committing terror acts in the territory of Russia.

On July 1, the Khaskovo Region Court in Bulgaria decided to deliver Akhmed Chataev, a native of Chechnya, to Moscow. The lawyer of Chataev insisted that his client could not be extradited, since he had a refugee status in Austria. In turn, the investigators, referring to the documents sent from Moscow, stated that Akhmed Chataev had sent 12 thousand US dollars to finance terrorists in Chechnya. As a result, the Court agreed with the prosecutor's side.

The Court ruled that the refugee status, which Akhmed Chataev received in 2003 in Austria, was valid in all countries that had signed the Geneva Convention, including in Bulgaria, the "Echo of the Caucasus" reports.

Akhmed Chataev was detained at the Bulgarian-Turkish border on May 19. Crimes, of which the native of Chechnya is accused by Moscow, refer to 2008.