#3 - JRL 6585
Denmark Releases Wanted Chechen Rebel
December 3, 2002
By JAN M. OLSEN

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Russia's attempt to get ahold of a senior Chechen envoy failed Tuesday when Denmark refused to extradite Akhmed Zakayev, calling evidence against him insufficient.

A top aide of Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, Zakayev was quietly released Tuesday afternoon, two hours before the Justice Ministry announced its decision.

While the Chechen's supporters expressed happiness over his release, Moscow fumed and said Denmark was not taking the fight against terrorism seriously.

``Unfortunately, the Danish authorities probably have their own interpretation of terrorism and the fight against it, which differs from the international view,'' Prosecutor General's Office spokesman Leonid Troshin told the Interfax news agency.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov insisted that ``Zakayev is one of the leaders of terrorist groups operating in Chechnya, and Russian law enforcement has enough weighty clues confirming this.''

In Copenhagen, Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller retorted: ``Denmark is upfront when it comes to fighting terrorism.''

Justice Minister Lene Espersen dismissed allegations that the decision was political.

Holger K. Nielsen of the opposition Socialist People's Party said claims that Zakayev was a terrorist were ``totally absurd. He is a very moderate politician.''

Zakayev, 43, had been in custody in the capital, Copenhagen, since his Oct. 30 arrest after a legal meeting of Chechen rebels here, while the Justice Ministry investigated Russia's request.

Denmark had set a Nov. 30 deadline for Russia to provide sufficient evidence against Zakayev.

In the initial arrest warrant, Moscow linked him to attacks on civilians, including a theater raid in the Russian capital that left 129 hostages dead. Later evidence didn't mention the episode, but focused on a series of terror attacks during 1996-1999.

Jakob Scharf, the head of the Justice Ministry's international department, said Zakayev was released because the evidence was ``insufficient.''

Gunnar Homann, one of Zakayev's two lawyers, told The Associated Press that he ``was very happy about the decision and is doing fine.'' He refused to say where his client was, but said a news conference would be held Wednesday.

British actress Vanessa Redgrave, who has housed Zakayev in London since January 2002, was thrilled.

``The truth has won. He is out,'' said Redgrave, who rushed to Copenhagen after hearing about his release. ``A victory for truth is a victory for everybody,'' she told AP.

Zakayev holds a Russian passport with a Schengen visa, meaning he can travel freely within the 15-member European Union bloc. Scharf said he was free to leave the country.

Russia promised to continue its hunt for Zakayev.

Robert Adelkhanian, of Russia's Prosecutor General's Office, told Interfax that ``wherever Zakayev goes, we will request his extradition. He is still on the international wanted list.''

A 1996 peace left Chechen separatists in charge after a 20-month war, but Russian troops poured back into Chechnya in 1999, after rebel raids in a neighboring region and after a series of apartment-house bombings that killed some 300 people and were blamed on the rebels.