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Revision as of 11:32, 7 December 2002 by Gabbe (talk | contribs) (merger of two articles)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Akhmed Zakayev is a Chechen envoy and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Aslan Maskhadov, appointed by President Maskhadov shortly after the 1997 election.
He was involved in negotiations with Russian representatives before and after the September 1999 Russian offensive. He was accused by Russia of involvement in the Moscow theatre siege. Living in London, he organized the World Chechen Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark which brought together Chechens and Russian human rights activists in October 2002, where the Russians demanded his arrest and extradition. During the congress, Zakayev denied Maskhadov's involvement in the theater capture, but threatened new acts of terrorism (including the use of nuclear materials).
In Denmark he was arrested on October 30, held for five weeks, but released when the Danish authorities were not convinced that sufficient evidence had been provided. While there is officially a moratorium on the use of the death penalty in Russia (as is a must for any member of the Council of Europe), the Danish courts refused to extradite Zakayev, explaning that they usually do not repatriate persons when they face the death penalty. On December 7, Zakajev returned to London, where he is expected to claim asylum. The British authorities arrested him but he was released on 50,000 GBP bail, which was paid by Vanessa Redgrave who had travelled with him from Denmark.