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France gets US request to extradite Russian basketballer Kasatkin

Daniil Kasatkin was arrested at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport at the request of US authorities on June 21

PARIS, August 25. /TASS/. The US authorities have filed an extradition request to the French Foreign Ministry for Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who was detained at Paris airport in late June, his lawyer Frederic Belot told TASS on Monday.

"According to the prosecutor's office, the extradition request from the US authorities arrived at the French Foreign Ministry on August 19," the lawyer stated.

Belot noted that his client’s defense never received these documents, and subsequently filed a petition for the immediate release of the Russian national with the chairman of the investigative chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal and the Prosecutor General. The motion is expected to be reviewed on August 27, he added.

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 companies and federal agencies.

"Being a professional basketball player, Kasatkin has never been involved in illegal computer activities, and he does not possess any expertise in the field of computer science," Belot stressed. "He [Kasatkin] firmly denies any involvement and is confident that there was a mistake in his case."

The Investigative Chamber at the Paris court, having reviewed on July 9 a request for release filed by Kasatkin's lawyer, decided to keep the athlete in custody after lengthy deliberations, despite assurances from his lawyer that he would remain in France and not skip bail.

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