The Tbilisi City Court on [date] ruled to allow the extradition of Mikhail Timofeev, a former aide to ex-governor of Khabarovsk Krai Sergei Fugal, to Russia. Timofeev was detained in Georgia on January 23; the court's decision was reported by a BBC correspondent from the courtroom.
According to defense lawyer Rusudan Mchedlishvili, the detention was based on a letter from Russia's Interpol bureau. However, in 2025, Interpol itself removed Timofeev from its wanted lists, deeming the Russian arguments insufficiently substantiated.
In Russia, Timofeev is accused of complicity in the 2004 murder of businessman Yevgeny Zor, one of the crimes for which Fugal was convicted. The defense insists the case is politically motivated. UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia, Mariana Katzarova, also deemed the prosecution politically motivated and warned of a high risk of torture if Timofeev is returned to Russia.
The human rights project 'Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial' (listed as a 'foreign agent') had earlier recognized Fugal and three others convicted in the case—Andrei Karepov, Marat Kadyrov, and Andrei Paley—as political prisoners.
The defense said the court ignored human rights findings and Timofeev's poor health: he became disabled and contracted diseases, including hepatitis C, while serving a previous sentence in Russia. The European Court of Human Rights found that earlier conviction unlawful.
Timofeev arrived in Georgia in March 2024 and sought asylum, citing political persecution. In March, the Tbilisi City Court upheld the migration authorities' refusal to grant asylum.
The defense plans to appeal the extradition ruling to Georgia's Supreme Court.