PARIS, July 10. /TASS/. Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin has been temporarily detained in France while awaiting extradition paperwork from the US authorities, Tribunal de Paris said in a statement to TASS.
"Kasatkin was apprehended as part of a preliminary request filed by the United States," the French prosecutors’ body stated. "He is temporarily in custody pending the submission of documents by the American authorities for his extradition."
The prosecutor's office pointed out that "in accordance with the bilateral agreement, such documents must be provided within a period of 60 days. The date of the new hearings has not yet been determined."
Earlier, French lawyer Frederic Belo, lead attorney for Kasatkin, told TASS that amid his client's pending extradition to the United States, the defense had not even received a warrant for his arrest. The lawyer expressed confidence that Kasatkin will be found innocent on all charges.
Kasatkin was arrested at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport at the request of US authorities on June 21. He is suspected of being part of a hacker group that carried out ransomware attacks targeting US businesses and federal agencies.
Belo appealed to a Paris court that Kasatkin should be released on his own recognizance, guaranteeing that he would stay in the country and not flee his bail, but the court was not convinced, ruling on July 9 to keep him in custody.