Ecuador judge rejects extradition request for Belarusian, orders him freed immediately
Source: Associated Press via Washington Post
Updated: Tuesday, August 28, 8:10 PM
QUITO, Ecuador A judge on Ecuadors highest court rejected on Tuesday an extradition request for a former police investigator from Belarus who has been jailed since June, and ordered him freed immediately ...
Judge Carlos Ramirez of the National Court of Justice found the political refugee status granted Barankov to be justified, according to a court official who sent The Associated Press the judges order. The official was not authorized to be identified by name.
The 30-year-old Barankov had argued he could be killed if sent back to his former Soviet bloc homeland, whose president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been nicknamed Europes last dictator.
Barankov says he fled Belarus after uncovering an oil-smuggling ring involving senior government officials including relatives of Lukashenko ...
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