Illustrative stock photo (source: Sme)
Slovakia has extradited Ingushetia citizen Aslan Yandiev to Russia; there, he is wanted for terrorism crimes, the Russian official newswire TASS informed on July 18. Yandiev was allegedly transported to Russia the day before, by plane from Bratislava, the daily Izvestia wrote.
Who is Yandiev?
Yandiev, a citizen of Ingushetia (part of the Russian Federation), born in 1978, was internationally wanted for suspicions of participating in a series of terrorist crimes in 2006 at various places in the city of Vladikavkaz ,which claimed lives. According to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), he was a member of the armed group of Chechen commander Shamil Basaev, the Sme daily wrote, citing Russian sources.
FSB claims Yandiev left Russia in 2010, with falsified documents, to avoid prosecution. He then tried to claim asylum in Switzerland, the Netherlands and other European Union member states. In 2011, he was detained in Slovakia.
Not even international bodies agree
Since 2010, Yandiev had been waiting for a ruling in his asylum bid; but later, Russia asked for his extradition.
The UN’s Commission for Human Rights preliminary ruled his extradition to be suspended – at least until the case is properly investigated, which the Amnesty International (AI) Slovensko human rights’ watchdog cites.
On the other hand, the Slovak Justice Ministry leans on the argument of the ECHR, which refused to issue such ban, most recently on May 30.
The Slovak Constitutional Court was the last instance that may have prevented Yandiev’s extradition but obviously failed to do so.
The Ingushetia citizen had tried for seven years to fight his extradition to Russia, arguing that the accusations are unsubstantiated.
Slovak activists see threats
Apart from Russian authorities accusing him of terrorism (with his guilty plea allegedly being forced by torture), he is also threatened by an increase in out-of-court executions and torture in Ingushetia, Amnesty International Slovensko has warned. It also asked the ministries of justice, foreign affairs and interior to stop the extradition, arguing that by doing so, the country would violate its international commitments to human rights, Sme wrote.
Yandiev's handing over to Moscow has been orchestrated by the FSB, Russian General Prosecutor’s Office, Russian national Interpol centre, and the Russian Federal Service for Execution of Punishment (FSIN), the daily wrote, quoting the Russian newswire RIA Novosti.
