Roman Shklover spoke about the impossibility of leaving Armenia after the extradition request

Russian authorities have issued a request for the extradition of Roman Shklover to Russia. He does not want to receive asylum in Armenia, but cannot leave it until a decision is received on the extradition request. Human rights activists believe that the chances of proving the political nature of the persecution are high.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, on October 21, 2024, security forces in Yerevan detained Russian citizen Roman Shklover, who is suspected of publicly justifying terrorism in Russia. In Armenia, this act is not a crime, and detention for political reasons grossly violates human rights, said human rights activist Artur Sakunts. On the night of October 22, Shklover was released.

Roman Shklover reported that he is currently moving freely aroundArmenia.

But they won't let me out of Armenia. Because there is an extradition request. Now I'm looking for a part-time job. There are no other difficulties, except for work and lack of money," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The emigrant said that he did not apply for asylum in Armenia and has no desire to apply.

"Because I want to leave. And if I apply, I will not be able to leave the country at all. Armenia does not extradite for policy, unlike other CIS countries. That is why I chose Armenia. But initially I did not plan to live here," Shklover explained.

He has not communicated with his appointed lawyer for a long time, and now lawyers from the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly are helping him.

"But I saw him twice, in October and February, when I was detained. In October, when I was detained, the lawyer went to court and acknowledged the illegal detention. I keep in touch with the girls, with the lawyers," Shklover said.

He also said that the extradition request had recently arrived. "The extradition request arrived very recently. And I learned about it, again, from the lawyers. The Ministry of Internal Affairs doesn't tell me anything. They don't call, they don't invite me anywhere," Shklover noted.

Shklover has a chance of receiving asylum in Armenia, according to Ani Chatinyan, a lawyer for the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly.

"It's possible, but all these issues can be resolved at the migration center, the migration service. But since he categorically does not want to submit documents to the migration service, this issue is hanging in the air,” she told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

She noted that the consideration of the extradition request (and the request came for Shklover about a month ago) is a long process and for Shklover there is a chance for a favorable decision.

“All cases are considered individually. Since the extradition request has already been sent, this means that Armenia will look, will study the case and then make a decision. As a human rights activist, I can say that Armenia should be guided by European conventions on human rights, the rules of European conventions. If extradition to some country is dangerous, if a person is threatened with torture or inhuman treatment there, then Armenia should say no and not extradite,” Chatinyan said.

According to her, the Armenian authorities generally refuse extradition requests from countries such as Russia or Belarus.

“But The Prosecutor General's Office or the Ministry of Justice cannot decide that a person will be in danger in a particular country without having facts. That is, we must simultaneously take all the steps and actions that are necessary and required for protection. In general, the period for reviewing requests is eight months. After that, if they have not made or have not had time to make a decision, then that's it. But often a decision can be made in 3-4 months," Chatinyan explained.

Relocated from the Russian Federation to Armenia Daniil Chebykin* believes that the persecution of Roman Shklover is political in nature.

"The Russian authorities are persecuting everyone who publicly speaks out against the , precisely for their words and position. As far as I know, Roman is being persecuted for a comment on a social network. Of course, the security forces are denounced the accusations in threatening forms, calling it a justification of terrorism, but in fact these are simply restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of expression of people's opinions. Now they are trying to get dissenters even from abroad, so that people do not feel safe," he said.

In his opinion, the situation is dangerous in the sense that the Armenian authorities, for example, may not understand what "justification of terrorism" is, that there is nothing violent behind these words.

"For example, I myself was added to the list of extremists only for . I repeat, Russian security forces manipulate the words of the law in order to persecute dissenters. This is precisely why it is unacceptable for other countries to agree with their absurd accusations," Chebykin* pointed out.

He recommended that Shklover contact local human rights organizations and more widely publicize his position on social networks and in the media, explaining the meaning of his words.

“If Roman has an interview at the migration service or an extradition court, we need to clearly explain our position,” Chebykin* noted.

* are included in the register of foreign agents.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.