Star suspect in Putin murder plot seeks asylum in Ukraine
KYIV. Aug 21 (Interfax) - The main suspect behind the attempted assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Adam Osmayev, has asked for asylum in Ukraine, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Ukraine told Interfax.
Our information is that he asked the Ukrainian authorities to grant him asylum, the representative office said.
Under international law, Osmayev cannot be extradited while his application for asylum is being considered by the Ukrainian migration service, UNHRC representatives said. If denied asylum in Ukraine, Osmayev can exercise his right to appeal against the decision by the Ukrainian authorities, UN representatives said. Throughout this period, he cannot be extradited under international law, the UN office said.
As for the second arrested suspect, Kazakh man Ilya Pyanzin, who is also due to be extradited to Russia, the UNHCR has no information yet as to whether he asked for asylum in Ukraine.
The European Court of Human Rights has recommended that Ukraine suspend the extradition to Russia of Adam Osmayev, the main suspect in plotting an assassination attack on Vladimir Putin, until the end of the legal proceedings. On Tuesday the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry confirmed the suspended extradition.
The suspects who were wanted by Interpol were held during a special operation in Odesa on February 4. They are suspected of staging an explosion in Odesa on January 4, 2012.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office sent the criminal case opened earlier by police under the Ukrainian Criminal Code Article 263 (unlawful handling of weapons, ammunition or explosives) to Odesa investigators. Pyanzin, who was injured in the incident, was arrested and started actively cooperating with investigators, telling them that Osmayev was their group leader. Osmayev was arrested in Odesa later in February.
The Security Service of Ukraine confirmed that Russian and Ukrainian security agencies foiled Osmayev and Pyanzin's plans to assassinate Vladimir Putin after the Russian presidential election.
In March, the suspects' testimony led to the opening of a case under the Ukrainian Criminal Code Article 258-3 (formation of a terrorist organization), Article 14 and Article 258 (plotting a terrorist attack).
After arresting the suspects the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office received a request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office for the extradition of the suspects. On August 14, an appellate court in the Odesa region upheld the prosecutors' proposal to extradite Osmayev to Russia but the procedure was suspended following the ECHR recommendations.