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| Europe |
| Belgium says will not accept Zakayev |
| 2002-12-03 |
| According to Belgian deputies, the country's Foreign Minister has spoken against the possibility of extraditing Akhmed Zakayev, an envoy of Chechen elected president Aslan Maskhadov, to Belgium and granting him political asylum. Zakayev is currently in Denmark and Danish Justice Ministry said on Tuesday it found Russian proof of Zakayev's involvement in crimes insufficient. He will be set free. Bet that fried Putin... Belgian deputies said on Tuesday that the country's experts found Russia's evidence of Zakayev's criminal activities more than convincing and relevant. The source noted that Brussels made it clear that Zakayev's extradition to Belgium would be very undesirable. They've got enough murderous Islamists without having to import any... Zakayev entered Denmark from Belgium with a Belgian-issued Schengen visa in his passport. According to the current law, Denmark's authorities have to send Zakayev back to Belgium or grant him asylum if they refuse to extradite him to Russia. So now they can keep him, until he has an "unfortunate accident." I imagine he'll just drop out of sight, though, and turn up in some other country entirely — either Georgia or Azerbaijan, or someplace where Arabic's the language of choice. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |