A British judge on Thursday rejected Russia's bid to extradite Chechen rebel leader Akhmed Zakayev, saying it was politically motivated. Judge Timothy Workman said he had found Russia was "seeking extradition for the purposes of prosecuting Mr Zakayev on account of his political opinions."
| His political opinions include killing large numbers of people... |
Russia had sought his extradition on 13 counts including murder, kidnapping and soliciting others to murder during the war in the breakaway region.
But Judge Workman, giving his ruling in London's Bow Street Magistrates' Court, said that he believed Zakayev might be tortured if he returned to Russia. "It would be unjust and oppressive to return Mr Zakayev to Russia," he said. The judge quoted one witness as saying: "Chechens are almost always tortured" and said he believed the evidence of another witness who testified that he had been held in a pit for six days and tortured with electric shocks to force him to make a statement against Zakayev. 
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