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Arrest of Russian ex-prosecutor in Poland prolonged

Alexander Ignatenko has already spent more than nine months in a Polish prison
Screenshot Russia 24
Screenshot Russia 24

WARSAW, October 5 (Itar-Tass) — The arrest of former deputy prosecutor of the Moscow Region Alexander Ignatenko in Poland is prolonged for four months till February 9, 2013. The district court in the Polish city of Nowy Sacz took the decision on Friday.

The court ruled that the new circumstances of the case, about which the Russian Prosecutor General's Office informed the Polish side, would not dismiss the charges brought against him. The court believes that the arrest must be prolonged to prevent Ignatenko from leaving Poland and escaping from the Russian investigative authorities. According to the court, four months are enough for the Justice Ministry to take the decision and extradite the detainee to Russia.

Ignatenko's attorney, who asked to release the defendant, told Itar-Tass that the extradition request should be modified.

The attorney said the detainee was held in a prison in Tarnow, felt well, was visited by members of his family and received books.

The former deputy prosecutor of the Moscow Region is charged with supporting illegal gambling business in the region. He was on a wanted list and sought through Interpol on charges of fraud and taking 47 million roubles as bribes from the suspected organizers of the illegal business. In the evening on January 1, the ex-prosecutor was detained by Polish internal security officers when he was leaving the resort of Zakopane where he arrived some days earlier to meet with his family.

Five court meetings were held in Poland to consider Ignatenko's case. The most important was held in the court of appeal in Krakow on March 7, which was concluded with the verdict to extradite him to Russia.

Ignatenko has already spent more than nine months in a Polish prison. Under the Polish law, the country's Justice Ministry is to take the final decision to extradite him. A ministry official who is in charge of international contacts and directly deals with the extradition, Michal Krolikowski, said the case was expected to be concluded in the middle of next week.

The Polish Justice Ministry on Wednesday received the appropriate documents from the Russian Investigative Committee (SK). The Polish official said they received the answer from the SK with safety guarantees for the detainee. The documents were also received from the Russian Prosecutor-General's Office that doubted one of the accusations against him.

The Russian side informed that some of the charges presented in the extradition request not connected with the bribery were brought in accordance with the regulations that were no more in force. As for the bribery charges, there are some aspects that must be clarified, the official added.