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Tycoon wanted for murder in Russia to seek political asylum in Montenegro, says attorney

The lawyer stressed that Telman Ismailov was not pleading guilty to any of alleged activities

TASS, October 15. Russian mogul Telman Ismailov, held in Podgorica on an arrest warrant emanating from Russia and facing murder and kidnapping charges, will seek political asylum in Montenegro. Furthermore, he is not pleading guilty to any crime, Ismailov’s attorney Marina Rusakova told TASS.

"He is not involved in any crime and is not pleading guilty to any of these alleged activities, because the criminal cases against him are based on testimony from one of the witnesses [in the criminal case against his brother Rafik] Kerimov and papers from the case on Avraam Russo’s kidnapping, which are not legitimate," the lawyer said.

The extradition request sent by the Prosecutor General’s Office to Montenegro was put together a long while ago, Rusakova noted. "At the time of his arrest, Telman [Ismailov] had the document in hand that he had filed a request for political asylum, therefore his detention is illegal. The extradition issue will only be resolved after checking this fact," she added.

That said, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation sent a request to Montenegro for the extradition of tycoon Telman Ismailov charged with murder in Russia, its press service told TASS earlier today.