Human rights activist: The issue of Extradition of Salman of the North to Russia was removed from the agenda

The issue of extradition of the Russian Islamic activist Salman of the North from Armenia to Russia was removed from the agenda. According to the "Caucasian Knot", the chairman of the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly Arthur Sakunz announced this.

On Thursday evening, Sakuntz said, the court in Yerevan refused to extend the arrest of the North, against which the case of falsification of documents and the illegal crossing of the border is open in Armenia. The investigator petitioned the activist to be left in a pre -trial detention center for another two months. However, the judge decided to release the accused on bail 1 million drams (about 2100 dollars).

The arrest of the North, appointed by the previous court order, expires on May 30. It is expected that by this time the defense will be a deposit of the court deposit. Then the activist will be released.

On Monday, it became known that the Migration Service of Armenia agreed to consider the petition of the North to provide political asylum. The activist was given a certificate of refugee status. It was noted that before consideration of an emigrant’s application, they cannot extradite to Russia.

North 32 years old; His real name is before emigration from Russia - Maxim Baidak. Earlier, the North lived in St. Petersburg and was a prominent member of the national organization of Russian Muslims, which unites ethnic Russians professing Islam, and adheres to moderate ideology.

In 2013, the case was opened against the activist under Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code (public calls for terrorism or its public justification). The north was charged with statements in support of the Primorsky partisans. At the same time, terrorism was not charged with anyone from the partisan detachment.

The North was sent under house arrest, from under which he fled. He lived in Turkey for several years; He was a spokesman for the Association of Russian-speaking Mukhadzhirs (Exiles), also known as the Union of Honor.

In 2016, after the regimes of Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin went closer to rapprochement and a number of Russian Muslims were arrested in Turkey, the North, like many other emigrants from Russia, went to Ukraine. There he received Ukrainian citizenship and officially changed his name to Bogdan Kalyusky.

On March 27 of this year, the North flew from Kyiv to Yerevan. On the 30th, when the activist was about to fly back and was already passing the control at the Zvartnots Airport, he was detained by security forces from the National Security service . They accused the North of using the document for someone else's name - Kalyusky - since with him there was also a passport for the previous name - Baidak.

On April 1, the North was arrested under the articles of the Criminal Code of Armenia on the falsification of documents and the illegal crossing of the border. However, human rights activists noted, a court decision is mentioned by a case initiated against an activist in Russia. "At the current level of dependence of the Armenian law enforcement agencies, Bogdan’s extradition to this country cannot be excluded," the Helsinki Civil Assembly said.

In late April - early May, a velvet revolution took place in Armenia. As a result, it was the co-chairman of the Elk Alliance, Nikol Pashinyan, who previously advocated reducing the dependence of Yerevan on Moscow, became the prime minister of the country.