Bulgaria will extradite to Russia a liberal who publicly burned a Russian passport
The Varna District Court of Bulgaria allowed the extradition to Russia of liberal Alexei Alchin, who was wanted on charges of tax evasion.
This was reported by the liberal-supporting resource Sota, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Since 2014, Alchin has been engaged in a business related to the purchase of scrap non-ferrous and precious metals and their resale to banks and jewelry workshops. It was as a result of this activity, according to investigators, that the liberal encountered difficulties with the law.
Alchin himself, in his blog, connects the criminal case against himself with his “opposition” activities - in 2014, he spoke out against reunification with Crimea, and with the start of the special operation, he publicly burned his Russian passport and military ID in front of the Varna City Hall.
“On June 22, I learned that Russia was looking for me. The search request was submitted at the end of April, that is, after I publicly spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On June 23, I appeared at the Varna police migration department and was detained at the request of Interpol in connection with charges of tax evasion...
Actions such as public statements against war, as well as the very fact that I called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the word “war” at a time when it was prohibited in Russia, as well as assistance, both humanitarian and organizational, which I provided to Ukrainians are punishable criminal offenses in Russia.
“In view of the inexorability of the penal system in Russia, these actions and my political views will undoubtedly worsen the punishment facing me and I will be subject to a much more severe punishment than is required by the nature of the official case opened against me by the Russian court, and most likely I will face life imprisonment,” – the liberal wrote on his blog.
During the court hearing held yesterday, several dozen of his supporters came in support of Alchin, among whom was former State Duma deputy Gennady Gudkov, but the court refused to hear him as a witness for the defense.
“According to him, the judge deliberately delayed the consideration of the case until the evening and did not allow anyone into court except Alchin’s wife and his two lawyers... Today, the judge was especially irritated by the pickets of about 50 people demanding not to extradite Alchin to Russia.
Gudkov added that Bulgaria is now experiencing a political crisis; a transitional government is in power until October, which has already announced its intention to normalize relations with the Putin regime and restore Russian gas purchases", notes Sota.
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