14:21, 25 October 2021

Defence excludes Ismailov's extradition to Russia

Telman Ismailov. Screenshot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sIWXDNbNt4

Telman Ismailov, a native of Baku, has received political asylum, since the Montenegrin authorities treated his criminal prosecution in Russia as unjustified, the businessman's advocates have informed, regarding his extradition impossible.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 22, it became known that Telman Ismailov received political asylum in Montenegro and, therefore, was released from jail, where he had been placed under a search warrant issued by Russia.

In Russia, Telman Ismailov, the founder of the Moscow-based Luzhniki and Cherkizovo marketplaces and the owner of the AST Group, was arrested in absentia on charges of organizing the murder of two entrepreneurs in 2016. On October 1, it became known about the detention of Ismailov in Podgorica. Then, a court in Montenegro arrested him; and a request was sent to the Montenegrin Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to extradite Ismailov to Russia.

The issue of Telman Ismailov's extradition to Russia is not considered in Montenegro, since he received political asylum there, said his advocate Marina Rusakova.

"Nobody refused (to Russia) in extradition simply because this issue was never considered. Telman Ismailov was given political asylum; Milos Vuksanovich, his Montenegrin advocate and an expert in the international law, believes that this decision cannot be cancelled," the RIA "Novosti" has quoted Ms Rusakova as saying today.

According to Marina Rusakova, Telman Ismailov has received political asylum because of his "unjustified persecution."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 25, 2021 at 11:27 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: The Caucasian Knot