ZAKAEV IN BRITAIN.

Publication: North Caucasus Weekly Volume: 3 Issue: 36

Following his release from a Danish prison, Zakaev flew to London’s Heathrow Airport on December 5, where British police took him into custody immediately. He was later, after having been questioned, released on bail, London’s Scotland Yard reported the following day. British actress and leading human rights activist Vanessa Redgrave paid the bail so that he could be freed prior to his hearing, which was set for December 11. “I’m Akhmed’s host. I’m his friend, I’m his guarantor,” the Oscar-winning actress commented to local media (Reuters, December 6). Russian Foreign Minster Igor Ivanov, participating in an OSCE meeting in Portugal, assailed the actions of the British authorities: “Say another terrorist turned up in London, bin Laden,” he remarked, “How would you deal with him? Would you react in the same way as with Zakaev? Would you talk to him in a police station and let him out again onto the street?” (Associated Press, December 6). On December 6, the BBC noted that “there is no extradition agreement between Russia and Britain” (BBC, December 6).