An expert from the Prosecutor General's Office recognized Zakayev as deputy prime minister of the legitimate government

Akhmed Zakaev, whose extradition is sought by the Prosecutor General's Office, is the Deputy Prime Minister of the legal government of Chechnya. This was admitted by Vladimir Bessarabov, deputy director of the Research Institute for Strengthening Law and Order at the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, who spoke on Thursday as an expert for the prosecution in the London court in the Zakayev case.

According to Kommersant, during cross-examination, Bessarabov confirmed the legitimacy of the election of Aslan Maskhadov as president of Chechnya, as well as the existence of a peace treaty dated May 12, 1997 and an agreement on mutual legal assistance between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic, signed in 1998 by Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Yuri Skuratov and Prosecutor General of Ichkeria Khavash Serbiev.

Answering the lawyer's question whether he recognizes Zakayev as deputy prime minister of the legal government of Chechnya, Bessarabov said: "I don't mind. Unless, of course, Mr. Zakayev himself does not mind."

Witness in the Zakaev case: In Russia, the prosecutor's office is out of politics and the court is independent - Grani.Ru, 11.09.2003

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