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A former Russian presidential guard who fled President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization now faces extradition from neighboring Kazakhstan on costs of desertion and unlawful border-crossing, Kazakh media has reported.
If authorized, Mikhal Zhilin’s extradition would mark the primary publicly recognized time an allied nation has returned a draft dodger to Russia, the place his household says he faces torture and abuse.
Police within the Kazakh capital of Astana arrested Zhilin on the airport on Dec. 6 as he tried to board a flight to Armenia, in line with Radio Azattyq, the Kazakh affiliate of the U.S. information group RFE/RL.
Russia reportedly positioned him on a global wished listing for desertion and unlawful border crossing.
Zhilin, 36, faces as much as 15 years in Russian jail if he’s extradited and convicted.
Zhilin is a former shift supervisor of the Federal Guard Service’s (FSO) particular communications and knowledge division in Siberia which oversees Putin’s contacts with Russia’s areas.
Federal workers like Zhilin will not be permitted to go away Russia as a result of they’ve entry to state secrets and techniques.
5 days after Putin declared a “partial” mobilization of reserves on Sept. 21, Zhilin crossed into Kazakhstan with out going by way of a border checkpoint and requested political asylum after being detained.
Zhilin’s spouse Yekaterina, who entered Kazakhstan with their kids by way of a border publish, advised Russian media that Russian authorities opened the felony case towards him on Sept. 27, someday after his detention.
A court docket in northeastern Kazakhstan discovered Zhilin responsible of illegally crossing the border on Dec. 2 and handed him a six-month suspended sentence.
On Monday, one other court docket in Astana ordered Zhilin to 40 days of pre-trial detention, in line with Azattyq.
Yekaterina mentioned her husband’s attorneys and kinfolk are interesting the Kazakh authorities’ refusal to grant him asylum in late November.
“Russia is extremely curious about males who know methods to maintain a gun,” Azattyq quoted her as saying. “They’ll attempt to power him to go to warfare, so we’re afraid he’ll be tortured.”
Russian authorities rejected Zhilin’s resignation request from the FSO which he submitted after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.
Kazakhstan has pledged to not extradite Russians who fled their nation’s mobilization until they’re underneath felony investigation.
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