site.btaRussian Citizen Arrested Near Turkish Border Faces Extradition Proceedings

Haskovo District Court ordered the temporary detention of Russian citizen Anzor Unezhev, 40, for up to 40 days pending extradition proceedings, the court said on Tuesday.

Unezhev was arrested on October 10 near the village of Sladun, close to the border with Turkiye, after entering Bulgaria without identity documents. Russian authorities have sought him through Interpol since 2020 on charges of illegally manufacturing and trafficking firearms and organizing an extremist group. The charges carry prison sentences of up to 10 years in Russia.

Unezhev denied the allegations and said online footage purportedly showing him modifying a weapon and handing it over was fake. He said he had lived in Turkiye for the past decade, had been granted political asylum there and had entered Bulgaria seeking protection in another European country.

The court said detention was necessary to ensure his participation in extradition proceedings because he had neither valid identity documents nor a registered address in Bulgaria. The ruling can be appealed to the Plovdiv Court of Appeal within three days.