‘I’m wanted by Interpol’: At FSB’s request, Russian court extends pre-trial detention of Igor Strelkov, while defendant argues he couldn’t flee abroad

A district court in Moscow has extended the pre-trial detention of Igor Strelkov (also known by his legal name, Igor Girkin) until December 18, at the request of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The agency is mounting an extremism case against its retired officer, who is also a former leader of Russia-backed militants in the self-proclaimed Donetsk “people’s republic.”

The FSB argued for keeping Strelkov in custody to give enough time for expert reports to come in. Psycho-linguistic, genetic, fingerprint, and ballistic expert reports have all been requested by the investigators. Strelkov’s wife Miroslava Reginskaya told the Russian outlet Mediazona that she doesn’t know what ballistic evidence there is in her husband’s case.

In the course of the hearing, Strelkov asked the court to put him under house arrest. He said he is in poor health and has no intention of fleeing from prosecution: “I’m wanted by Interpol, I’ve been convicted to life in prison, so the idea that I might flee abroad strikes me as absurd,” he said. “I also don’t think it possible for me to flee within Russia,” he added, “since I don’t admit the charges and plan to defend my good name and honor in court.”

In August, it emerged that Strelkov’s case had been classified. The former militant, convicted in The Netherlands for his role in downing a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet over the Donbas in 2014, was arrested in Moscow on July 21.

On August 31, the jailed Strelkov announced, on Telegram, the six things that would make him a better candidate for president of Russia than Vladimir Putin.