Russian musician Denis Kaznacheev, who was detained in Germany in 2020 at the request of the United States, will be extradited to the States.

This decision was made by the Berlin Court of Appeal, Ivan Melnikov, vice president of the Russian division of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights, told RT.

He added that there was no sufficient evidence of guilt.

According to the human rights activist, Kaznacheyev was not informed that the date of the trial was set for November 4, and he did not have the opportunity to prepare a defense.

In addition, Melnikov said that the decision was made in absentia, and the result of the meeting was received by the lawyer of the Russian only after a couple of weeks.

"In the light of the fight against" Russian hackers "

A native of the Kemerovo region, Denis Kaznacheev has been living in Berlin since 2012, writes techno music and participates in international music festivals.

He is the co-founder of Nervmusic Records.

As RT previously reported, at the end of May 2020, the musician was arrested in Berlin at the request of the US Department of Justice.

He is accused of cyber fraud and laundering more than $ 1 million on the darknet between 2010 and 2020.

If a Russian is extradited to America, he will face a long term there.

Kaznacheev himself denies his guilt.

After being detained, he was placed in solitary confinement in Berlin's Moabit prison, the musician's manager Denise Gluk told RT about this.

In July 2020, the detainee was released from the pre-trial detention center after posting a bail of € 20,000. After that, he turned to the Russian branch of the International Committee for the Defense of Human Rights and said that he was forced to go to the first interrogation without a lawyer.

At the moment Denis is at home in Berlin.

The court's extradition decision states that he should be taken into custody.

According to Ivan Melnikov, Kaznacheev did not violate the law, did not try to hide, which means that his placement in custody is unreasonable.

“In the light of the fight against“ Russian hackers ”in the United States, apparently, they are trying to tie Denis to a case to which he certainly cannot have any relation.

Denis is clearly not a programmer, he does not have the appropriate education, the only computer programs in which Denis understands as a DJ are musical.

Therefore, it is at least strange to talk about his involvement.

He is an ordinary musician, ”says the human rights activist.

"Under psychological pressure"

Melnikov emphasizes that all the accusations in the Kaznacheev case are false, look strange and have no background.

In addition, according to him, the process is contrary to Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights (“The right to liberty and security of person”, “The right to a fair trial”, “Punishment solely on the basis of the law”).

“During the first interview of Denis with law enforcement agencies, his right to a lawyer was violated, he was under psychological pressure and was confused.

Therefore, Denis's statement made at that time could not be accepted and used.

US law enforcement agencies were working illegally in Germany, which poses a threat to the country's sovereignty, ”says Melnikov.

According to him, if the court decision in the United States is made in absentia, the suspect will not have sufficient opportunity to defend himself and will not be able to conduct a fair trial.

Human rights activists believe that the extradition request is directed “with the aim of persecuting or punishing a person on the basis of race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, political opinion, gender or status” and that the position of a Russian may be harmed for any of these reasons.

“We are firmly convinced that the person in respect of whom extradition is requested has been or will be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the requesting state,” Melnikov said. - This person did not or will not have the right to the minimum guarantees in criminal proceedings provided for in Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in criminal proceedings (based on the experience of Russian prisoners in the United States). The United States has withdrawn from a number of international human rights treaties and therefore cannot guarantee that human rights will be respected. The UN Committee against Torture has made a report on human rights violations in US penitentiaries. "

Ivan Melnikov, together with his fellow human rights defenders, is preparing an appeal to the ECHR on violation of the Convention on Human Rights.

Filing an appeal against an extradition decision requires additional professional lawyers, or payment for the services of the current ones.

Now Kaznacheev does not have financial resources, including to pay for lawyers, and he needs support, added the vice-president of the Russian division of the International Committee for the Protection of Human Rights.

“I really hope that we will be able to stop the illegal action against Denis and return him to his homeland, help him in this.

An elderly mother, who is very worried about her son and who has not seen him for a very long time, is waiting for him at home, ”Melnikov said.