Prosecutor General Ustinov flies to Georgia to negotiate on extradition of Chechen gunmen

Vladimir Ustinov, Russia's Prosecutor General, has flown to Georgia to meet his Georgian counterpart to discuss the extradition of Chechen gunmen who were detained on the Russian-Georgian border, reported the General Prosecutor Office's Information and Public Relations Department on Tuesday.

The Prosecutor General reported on the previous day after he met with the President that the Russian-Georgian meeting may be held in Tbilisi shortly. Ustinov also noted that he believes that the Georgian side has no reason to deny Russia the extradition of the gunmen. Ustinov referred to a statement by President Eduard Shevardnadze of Georgia and the practice of extraditing criminals that exists between the two countries.

The seven-man strong group of Chechen bandits, among whom were wounded men, was detained on August 3 in the area of the Georgian frontier post of Girevi. The gunmen were returning to Georgia after the large gang of terrorists who broke through into Russia from the Georgian side on July 27, was defeated by the Federal forces. The Georgian law-enforcement bodies reported on Monday that the identities of the detained men have been established. They are Khamzat Isayev, Ruslan Tilsayev, Rizvan Visitov, Khusein Khadzhiyev, Kheizur Geisarov, Khusein Abiyev and Abdukhan Shamayev. All of them are about 30 years old.