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Ukraine extradites extremist involved in murder of judge Chuvashov and lawyer Markelov to Russia

The detectives found that Mikhail Volkov is a member of the extremist community, which was created to commit extremism-related crimes

Lawyer Stanislav Markelov, Photo ITAR-TASS/Valery Matytsin

Lawyer Stanislav Markelov, Photo ITAR-TASS/Valery Matytsin

A suspected member of an extremist community, believed to be involved in the murders of Moscow city court judge Eduard Chuvashov and lawyer Stanislav Markelov, has been extradited from Ukraine to Russia.

“Considering a request from the Russian prosecutor general’s office, the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office decided to extradite Mikhail Volkov to Russia. He was handed over from Ukrainian law enforcement agencies and was brought to a Russian detention centre,” the Russian prosecutor general’s office reported.

Detectives found Volkov to be part of the extremist group BORN and a member of the armed group Combat Organisation of Russian Nationalists. He had been placed on the international wanted list and was detained in Ukraine in May.

Russia's Investigative Committee is inquiring into a case against masterminds and members of BORN, accused of banditry, illegal circulation of weapons, ammunition and explosive devices. Alongside murders of the judge and lawyer, officials are also probing killings of leaders of the anti-fascist movement Antifa, Fyodor Filatov, Ilya Dzhaparidze and Ivan Khutorsky, Thai boxing world champion Muslim Abdullayev, the murders of three others and attempted murders of two, one of them a police officer.

Volkov was charged in absentia with participation in an extremist community, murders driven by ideological and nationalistic hatred, and illegal circulation of weapons.

The BORN group's suspected leader, Ilya Goryachev, may be extradited from Serbia to Russia. He is charged in absentia with creating an extremist community, illegal circulation of weapons and masterminding of the murder of judge Chuvashov and the lawyer.

A Serbian court ruled to extradite Goryachev but lawyers overrode the court verdict on appeal. The nationalist was detained in Serbia in May 8 at Russian prosecutors' request and is being held in custody.

Judge Chuvashov was killed on April 12, 2010. Detectives believe his professional duties lay behind his murder, having tried cases of inter-ethnic crime.

Lawyer Markelov and freelance reporter for Novaya Gazeta newspaper Anastasia Baburova were gunned down in Prechistenka Street, Moscow, in January 2009. A founder of the magazine Russky Obraz (Russian Image) Nikita Tikhonov and activist of the organisation Russian Verdict Yevgeniya Khasis were found guilty of their murder. Tikhonov was sentenced to life in prison and Khasis was jailed for 18 years.

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