Poland refuses Zakayev visa

Poland has refused to issue a visa to Akhmed Zakayev, a leader of the
Chechen militants who is residing in London, RIA Novosti reports,
referring to the Polish agency PAP and Zakayev’s lawyer, Radoslav
Bashuk.

According to Bashuk, Zakayev has received a travel passport in the UK
and wanted to get a Polish visa to attend a meeting of the Court of
Appeals on the issue of his extradition in Warsaw on Thursday.

On the 17th of September Polish police detained Zakayev, who had
arrived in Poland for the third World Congress of the Chechen People.
Russia had sent Poland a request to extradite Zakayev. The Warsaw
District Court refused to comply with the request. After the congress
of the Chechen peoples was over, Zakayev returned to London.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian
Federation, Zakayev has committed crimes against the people, the
government, public safety and order, aimed at forcible violation of
the territorial integrity and the constitutional order of Russia. It
is alleged that Zakayev took an active part in organizing armed groups
on the territory of Russia from 1995 to 2000. One of the groups
comprised 1,500 people.

In 2010, Zakayev was put on the international wanted list for the
second time since 2001 in connection with the fact that he was hiding
from the investigative authorities.