Former Yevroset owner Yevgeny Chichvarkin said his life would be in danger if he lost a court battle against his extradition from Britain to Russia, according to an interview published on Monday.
Chichvarkin would be the first person to be extradited from Britain to Russia if he lost the case, though Moscow has repeatedly demanded the return of prominent figures such as Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky.
“They will try to kill me in prison, I know. And preferably on the way there so that I cannot say a word more,” Chichvarkin was quoted as saying by the opposition magazine New Times. He did not say who would try to kill him.
The Prosecutor General Office’s spokeswoman said in June that Chichvarkin had been charged with extortion and kidnapping for allegedly taking part in an organized criminal group.
He was arrested in London on Sept. 7 on the basis of a Russian extradition request.
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