Spanish Court Rules Against Extraditing GusinskyA Spanish court ruled Wednesday against extraditing media magnate Vladimir Gusinsky to Russia to face fraud charges, his lawyer said.Domingo Plazas said he had received a copy of the decision from a court panel that vote 2-1 against Russia's extradition request. Plazas declined to give details, saying the court would release the ruling later Wednesday. Gusinsky, who was arrested Dec. 12 on a warrant issued by Russia, was not present at the court but was expected to travel to Madrid later in the day from his mansion in southern Cadiz province, Plazas said. Russia has charged Gusinsky with misrepresenting the assets of his Media-Most empire to obtain $300 million in loan guarantees in 1996 from state-connected natural gas monopoly Gazprom. Gusinsky, 48, has repeatedly claimed he is a victim of political prosecution because of Media-Most's steadfast criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin and its hardnosed reporting of the war in Chechnya, among other issues. |
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