On February 3, Morocco extradited Russian citizen Dmitry Leonov, who is accused of participating in the activities of a terrorist organization. The announcement was made on the official website of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Leonov faces charges under Part 2 of Article 208 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for “Participation in an armed formation on the territory of a foreign state that is not provided for by the legislation of that state for purposes contrary to the interests of the Russian Federation” and Part 2 of Article 205.5 for “Participation in the activities of an organization recognized as terrorist under Russian law.”
Investigators report that in 2012, Leonov was in Syria and served as a Sharia judge in an illegal formation. By spring 2015, this group had joined Jabhat al-Nusra, which is banned in Russia.
After being placed on the international wanted list, Leonov was detained in Morocco. The extradition process was enabled by cooperation between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice of Morocco. He will be escorted to Moscow by officers from FSIN and Interpol.
