Georgia: Ombudsman asks authorities not to extradite natives of Northern Caucasus to Russia

Russia has asked Georgia to extradite natives of Northern Caucasus, including Mikhail Kadiev and Yusup Lakaev, accused of resonance killings, said the Ombudsman of Georgia Ucha Nanuashvili. He sent a memo to the Prosecutor's Office asking not to do it.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Russian law enforcement bodies believe that Mikhail Kadiev, a native of Dagestan, was responsible for the murder of September 27, 2009, of Alimsoltan Alkhamatov, the head of the Khasavyurt District. On March 6 Kadiev was sentenced in Georgia to two years in prison on charges of illegal circulation of arms and explosives. In his turn, Yusup Lakaev, a native of Chechnya, is accused of killing, on September 9, 2013, Dmitry Vishernyov, the first secretary of the Russia's Embassy in Abkhazia, and his wife. He was detained in Batumi on September 13.

According to residents of the Pankisi Gorge, in response to deportation of Kadiev and Lakaev, Russia intends to send home three Georgian citizens serving their terms in Russia for spying in favour of Georgia. Locals also urge to avoid the extradition of the detainees, because, as they said, "everyone knows what the fate awaits residents of Northern Caucasus in Russia, especially those who oppose the Kremlin policy," the "Georgia-Online" writes.