The Russian-based Revolutionary Contact Association,...

The Russian-based Revolutionary Contact Association, which describes itself as a body of Russian dissidents, has sent an appeal to the Danish government and the "international democratic community" to prevent the possible extradition of Chechen presidential envoy Akhmed Zakayev from Denmark to Russia. "Quite apart from the falseness of all the Russian accusations of "terrorism" [against Zakayev] and so on it is absolutely inhumane to extradite even real criminals to a country where the death penalty, torture and cruel treatment of prisoners are in force. Russia occupies one of the foremost places in the world in this respect, while the death penalty will automatically be resumed there from 1 January 2003, after the introduction of new regulations of the Russian Federation Criminal Code. Russian officials' attempts to give guarantees that the death penalty will not be applied against Zakayev are clearly a farce. According to the Russian Constitution, the courts are independent in Russia and cannot be subjected to government pressure. If such pressure occurs, experience shows that it is usually in order to toughen the sentence against fighters for the freedom of the Chechen people, not to soften it."