00:23, 31 March 2018

Austrian court refuses to cancel Aslan Gagiev's extradition

The Supreme Court of Austria (OGH) has dismissed the motion filed by the defence of Aslan Gagiev, a native of North Ossetia, with a request to cancel the decision to extradite to Russia the man, suspected of organizing a series of resonant murders.

Members of the Gagiev criminal grouping had committed about 40 murders in North Ossetia, Moscow and Moscow Region, in particular, they killed Mark Metsaev, the head of the republic’s Department for Combating Organized Crime (known as UBOP) of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA); the Mayor of Vladikavkaz Vitaly Karaev; Kazbek Pagiev, the former head of the administration of the same city, and others. Gagiev was detained in Vienna in January 2015.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 12, 2017, the Austrian Court approved the extradition of Aslan Gagiev to Russia, but in late November, the defence succeeded in seeking to postpone the extradition process. When Aslan Gagiev was about to be sent to the Vienna airport, advocates submitted to officials from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Interpol a statement that Aslan Gagiev might not survive a flight to Russia because of his aerophobia. The defence also requested to cancel the decision on extradition of Aslan Gagiev.

The Court dismissed the motions of the Aslan Gagiev's defenders, who requested to cancel all the decisions on his extradition to Russia and resume a trial. "The motion for a new trial at the Supreme Court was dismissed, and the request for the resumption of the case was refused," reported an official from the court as quoted by the TASS on March 30.

The decision has not yet entered into force, noted the official of the Court.

She has also added that the decision regarding the Aslan Gagiev's ability to make air travel has not yet been made, since the results of the examination concerning his aerophobia have only recently been brought to the Court.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.