Courtesy of Statecraft Journal
In a letter (A/59/538) to the UN Secretary-General, dated 27 October 2004, the Russian Federation called upon the United States and the United Kingdom to stop haboring two suspected terrorists.
Ilyas Khamzatovich Akhmadov (Ильяс Хамзатович Ахмадов) is a former foreign minister of Chechnya before its reabsorption into Russia in the Second Chechen War. He is currently in the United States, where he has claimed asylum. This has caused controversy in Russia.State Duma deputies are convinced that the internationalization of terrorism must now be countered by the internationalization of efforts to suppress it. We must finally recognize that only a united international community can destroy international terrorism and its social and economic roots and sources of financing. In the face of such a terrible threat, there is an urgent need to renounce efforts to achieve national geopolitical goals by any means available, including by allowing terrorists, religious fanatics, nationalists or separatists to be used as tactical fellow-travellers.
The State Duma calls on the authorities of the United States of America and the authorities of the United Kingdom to act in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) and to suppress the activities within their terroritories of Ilyas Akhmadov and Akhmed Zakayev, for whom there are international warrants. The State Duma also appeals to other States members of the counter-terrorist coalition not to allow persons suspected of involvement in terrorism into their terrority and to help to isolate them internationally.
In January 2000, Akhmadov visited the United States, where he met with officials of the State Department. He embarked on a tour of Western capitals, returning twice to the United States in 2000 and again in 2001. This provoked complaints from Russia, which claimed that he was involved in terrorism in Chechnya and elsewhere in Russia. He claimed asylum in the United States in 2002 but his inital bid was turned down after opposition from the United States Department of Homeland Security. However, he gained support from members of the United States Congress and peace campaigners, who saw him as a moderate. Indeed, Akhmadov has repeatedly criticised suicide bombings and hostage-takings by Chechen extremists and has campaigned for peace talks to end the war.
Akhmadov appealed the decision to deny him asylum and in May 2004, a judge in Boston ruled in his favour. The US Government announced that it would seek to overturn the decision but in August 2004 its objections were abruptly dropped, much to the annoyance of Russia.
Akhmed Zakayev (Ахмед Закаев) 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 is accused by Russia of involvement in planning 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. During the congress, Zakayev denied Maskhadov's involvement in the theater capture, but threatened new acts of terrorism (including the use of nuclear materials).
The Russians demanded his arrest and extradition, alleging foreknowledge of the Moscow theatre siege. He was arrested in Denmark on October 30, 2002 and held for five weeks, but released, ostensibly because 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 do not repatriate persons when they face the death penalty.
On December 7 2002, Zakayev returned to London, where he claimed asylum. The British authorities arrested him and he was released on 50,000 GBP bail, which was paid by Vanessa Redgrave who had travelled with him from Denmark. On November 13, 2003 a British judge rejected the Russian request for his extradition, saying that it was politically motivated and that he would be at risk of torture. On November 29 it was announced that he had been granted asylum in the UK.