The Paris court has denied the release of Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, upholding its decision against the defense’s claim that the U.S. extradition request was incomplete. On October 8, Kasatkin’s lawyer, Frederic Belo, revealed the ruling to Izvestia.
Belo argued that Kasatkin should be immediately released because the extradition documents lacked a French translation of the certificate of authenticity, violating Article 12 of the Extradition Convention. However, the Investigative Chamber ruled that the convention does not mandate such a translation as part of the extradition file, citing procedural grounds to deny the request.
The defense further contended that the evidence linking Kasatkin to alleged crimes in the U.S. request is insufficient, though the court has yet to address this argument. A final decision on the case is expected on October 29.
Earlier on October 8, the Paris court dismissed a third defense motion for Kasatkin’s release pending trial. The athlete was detained in France on July 9 at the U.S. request, with Belo suggesting he may face extortion charges linked to unauthorized access to his computer.
The U.S. has 60 days to submit additional materials for the extradition process, as noted by the Paris Court of Appeal’s Prosecutor General’s Office on July 11. Kasatkin’s earlier bid for judicial supervision was rejected on August 27.
