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Czech Justice Ministry still awaiting US extradition request for detained Russian

According to Schejbalova, the US justice authorities’ request to extradite the Russian citizen, suspected of cyberattacks on US targets, is unlikely to be received this week

© Egor Aleev/TASS

PRAGUE, October 31. /TASS/. The Czech Justice Ministry has not yet received the request for extradition of Russian national Yevgeni Nikulin to the US, the ministry’s spokesperson Tereza Schejbalova told TASS on Monday.

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Czech ministry does not expect extradition request for Russian national from US this week

"We still haven’t received the request," she said. "I can’t tell you when it will come." According to Schejbalova, the US justice authorities’ request to extradite the Russian citizen, suspected of cyberattacks on US targets, is unlikely to be received this week.

"Judging from experience, there is not enough time left (to prepare and officially send the request) so that the request comes this week, but on the other hand, we don’t know how fast the US side will act," Schejbalova noted.

Russia seeks to prevent Nikulin's extradition

Moscow is seeking to prevent the extradition of Russian citizen, Yevgeny Nikulin, from the Czech Republic to the US, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law, Konstantin Dolgov, said on Monday answering a question from a TASS correspondent.

"There is no new information," the diplomat said. "We are seeking to prevent his extradition to the US. This is another case of illegal arrest of our citizen as part of this US hunt."

According to Dolgov, there is every reason to utilize an agreement on mutual legal assistance with the Czech Repubilc. "We maintain contacts with lawyers, consular assistance is provided to make sure that the Russian national’s rights are not violated by the Czech authorities," he added.

Nikulin was taken into custody in Prague on October 5. According to international law, the request for his possible extradition to the US should be received by the Czech Justice Ministry within two months after his detention, that is before December 4. The Russian national is currently being held in Prague’s Pankrac prison.

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