“Will a visit of the Chechen leader spark an international scandal?” wonders Gazeta Wyborcza. Akhmed Zakayev, PM of the Chechen government in exile, is to attend the third World Chechen Congress beginning today in Pułtusk. Meanwhile Russia, which issued an international arrest warrant for Zakayev in 2001, has accused him of terrorism and wants him extradited. According to the daily, Poland has no alternative but to “detain Zakayev” once he crosses the border. Polish courts will then have to decide whether he can be extradited to Russia. Zakayev has been twice detained in the UK and Denmark, but neither country found him guilty of terrorism and thus refused to hand him over to Russia. In 2003, the Chechen leader was granted political asylum in the UK.
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