The decision on the extradition of the Russian citizen Svetlana Timofeeva to Russia will be given on April 14.
The court of Elbasan heard today the parties about the extradition or not of the Russian citizen. She herself has not agreed to be extradited.
The Russian authorities have requested permission to extradite her, but the situation of Russia's involvement in the war makes it impossible to extradite her to Russia. The Prosecutor's Office of the Elbasan Judicial District asks the Court not to allow the extradition of the Russian citizen to Russia, while adding that there is currently also a criminal proceeding against her in the Republic of Albania for which the security measure "prison arrest" has been given.
The lawyers described the request of the prosecution for not accepting the extradition of the Russian citizen to Russia as a legal request. According to them, the non-allowance of her extradition is based on the European Convention on the Rights of Fundamental Human Freedoms.
So the Russian citizen herself declared in today's session that the request of the Russian Federation should be dropped and that she has requested asylum in Albania.
"I agree that the request of the Russian Federation should be rejected. I applied as an asylum seeker in Albania and it is being examined. I agree to stay in Albania and not be sent to the Russian Federation", she said in court.
In the end, Judge Elis Dine stated that the decision will not be announced today due to the complexity of the case, but also the fact that the Russian citizen had blurred vision as her glasses were damaged and she could not replace them. In today's session, the absence of representatives of the Russian embassy was noted.
Mikhael Zarin, 24, Svetlana Timofeeva, 33, both from Russia and Fyodor Mihailovic from Ukraine, were detained on August 20, 2022 after they attacked with nerve agent spray the soldiers Ardian Xhaka and Aldi Bici, guards of the Cekin Military Plant in Gramsh where they were filming without permission .