A Russian human rights activist says a Polish court has ruled against his extradition to Russia, where he faces prosecution.
Yevgeny Khasoyev, a leader of the Siberia Without Torture human rights group, told RFE/RL that a court in Warsaw on October 26 denied a request by Russian authorities to extradite him back to the country.
Khasoyev, who is from the Siberian region of Buryatia, said in March that he was fleeing Russia after two criminal cases were launched against him, while a court ordered him to be sent to a psychiatric clinic for examination.
Buryatia’s Investigative Committee said Khasoyev, who is accused of assaulting a court bailiff and libel, was placed on an international wanted list in April.
The activist has insisted that the cases launched against him are politically motivated. He provided legal assistance to activists detained in Buryatia’s capital, Ulan-Ude, during unsanctioned rallies in January in support of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny.
“The [Polish] judge said it is obvious to her that by launching a probe against me and forcing checkups at a psychiatric clinic, the authorities in Russia tried to retaliate for my legal assistance to people who took part in winter protests to support Navalny,” Khasoyev told RFE/RL.
