Zvinchuk denies reports of possible Rybar team extradition

Rybar founder Mikhail Zvinchuk said reports that his team could have been extradited from Montenegro to the United States were untrue. RIA Novosti reported his statement on October 11 after the group returned to Russia.

Zvinchuk said inquiries had been sent to Interpol and Europol during the detention, but that the group was of no interest to them. He also said the team had not feared extradition to other European countries. These are his account of events, and the report does not include responses from either international agency.

Zvinchuk, his wife Valeria and three colleagues were detained in Risan on October 9. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova subsequently announced their release. The group returned to Russia overnight into October 11.

Zvinchuk previously linked the detention to an official request to film at Cetinje Monastery. Russia’s embassy asked Montenegro’s authorities to explain the grounds for detaining the group.