"Russian figures close to the Kremlin are mounting a last-minute attempt to halt the extradition from Dubai of a Romanian-French mercenary wanted in Romania for plotting a coup, the Guardian can reveal. Horatiu Potra, a shadowy former French Foreign Legionnaire, was arrested at Dubai airport on 24 September alongside his son and nephew as they prepared to board a flight to Moscow. Romanian investigators had accused the men of conspiring with Potra's ally, the far-right politician Calin Georgescu, to overthrow the constitutional order."
"We are currently trying to stop Potra's extradition, Spivak said in a phone interview on Monday. We have a lot of experience, and a lot of people are working on getting him freed, he said, adding that he had hired a group of our very reputable lawyers in the UAE who were working on getting Potra released and planned to travel to Dubai himself."
"Romanian officials have confirmed Potra's arrest in Dubai and said they were working with UAE authorities to secure his extradition for trial in Romania, while the country's general prosecutor said in interviews with local media that Potra was thought to be seeking asylum in Russia. The effort to block his extradition is being led by Igor Spivak, the head of the Russian Middle East Society, a group with close ties to the Russian foreign ministry, and by Alexander Kalinin,"
Horatiu Potra was arrested at Dubai airport on 24 September with his son and nephew while preparing to board a flight to Moscow. Romanian investigators accuse the men of conspiring with far-right politician Calin Georgescu to overthrow the constitutional order. Romanian officials confirmed the arrest and said they are working with UAE authorities to secure extradition for trial, while prosecutors said Potra may be seeking asylum in Russia. The extradition-blocking effort is being led by Igor Spivak and Alexander Kalinin, with Spivak hiring UAE lawyers and planning to travel to Dubai. Potra previously sought to annul his Romanian arrest warrant but a judge denied the request. Potra is a former French Foreign Legionnaire who later worked as a bodyguard and founded private military companies deployed to conflicts in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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