General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia decides to extradite to Russia three Chechen militants

The General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has decided to extradite to Russia three Chechen militants who were detained on Georgia's territory in August this year. The Georgian General prosecutor's office reported on Friday that after it familiarized itself with the material received from Russia, the Georgian side deemed it possible to agree to the extradition of Gelagayev, Alkhanov and Elkhadzhiyev who are at present kept in the Tbilisi pre-trial detention centre.

The General Prosecutor's office noted that on Friday these people will be informed of the forthcoming extradition. It was unable to state the concrete time when the gunmen would be handed over to Russia, recalling that according to the law, all the three of them have the right to appeal against the decision on the extradition in court.

The General Prosecutor's Office of Georgia has already informed its Russian colleagues of its decision.

On August 13, thirteen armed Chechens were detained in Georgia for illegally crossing over the border. The Russian side demanded their extradition in connection with the fact that they are charged with committing grave crimes on Russia's territory.

Five of the detained men were extradited to Russia on October 4. After that Tbilisi received a recommendation from the European Court of Human Rights that the extradition of the remaining detained men be halted. The other day the court repealed its recommendation.