Yevgeny Gerasimenko, a Russian national who is wanted in his home country, was detained at Prague airport on Sunday on the basis of an international arrest warrant, as reported by Denik N yesterday, though people close to Gerasimenko say his case is political and his alleged financial crimes serve as cover for Russia to get him back.
A Prague court will now decide whether Gerasimenko should be extradited back to Russia.
“We can confirm that on 7 January 2024 in the morning hours, a person of Russian nationality was detained at the Prague-Ruzyne International Airport immediately after the arrival of a plane from Riga,” said Czech immigration police spokesman Josef Urban.
He said Russia wants the man to be extradited to his homeland for alleged large-scale financial fraud.
Gerasimenko was flying from Riga via Prague to Paris, according to Denik N.
He was not detained in Latvia. He is seeking political asylum in France. He claims he is being persecuted in Russia for his anti-war stance and participation in several protests. Russia has issued an international arrest warrant for him, not because of his opposition to the war on Ukraine, but for alleged serious economic crimes.
Russia has repeatedly issued such arrest warrants for fugitives in recent years in order to return them to the country to be put on trial.
“I am amazed, then, that any Western state still responds to Russia’s requests to arrest fleeing Russian citizens accused of economic crimes,” Denik N quoted Russian lawyer Vadim Prokhorov. “Most of the political prisoners are in Russian jails not for their convictions, but for trumped-up economic crimes.”
Prokhorov, who has defended Russian opposition figures including leaders Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza, but says he does not represent or know Gerasimenko, described the Czech police’s actions as “unacceptable”. He said that Russia’s most famous political prisoner, Alexei Navalny, was also convicted of economic offences in his first trials, which he had probably not committed.
