Prague, Feb 10 (CTK) – The Ukrainian embassy in Prague previously sought the release of Ali Fayad, a Lebanese with Ukrainian nationality, from a Czech custody prison where he was waiting for Prague’s decision on his extradition to the USA, daily Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) wrote on Wednesday.
Ukrainian ambassador Borys Zaychuk asked about a possible release of Fayad on bail in letters addressed to the Czech justice minister and High State Attorney Lenka Bradacova, MfD writes.
Last week, Justice Minister Robert Pelikan decided not to meet the U.S. request for Fayad’s extradition. Fayad was released from custody and left the Czech Republic for Lebanon on the same day when five Czechs, who disappeared in Lebanon last July, returned to Prague.
Fayad and his two accomplices were arrested in a hotel in Prague in April 2014 over suspected support for terrorism.
The USA says they wanted to sell cocaine and weapons to U.S. anti-drug office agents who passed themselves off for members of FARC, the Colombian terrorist organisation.
Czech server Neovlivni.cz recently wrote that the real reason why Washington sought Fayad’s extradition may have been his possession of detailed information about the arms trade related to Ukraine.
Fayad used to be an adviser to former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.
One month after Fayad’s detention in Prague, Zaychuk wrote to former Czech justice minister Helena Valkova that Fayad evidently did nothing unlawful.
He asked Valkova whether and how fast Kiev could expect Czech decision on the acceptance of a bail that would “replace” Fayad’s stay in custody. His stay in jail causes considerable damage, Zaychuk wrote in his letter cited by MfD.
A few weeks later, Zaychuk sent a letter to Bradacova, asking her to “ensure a remedy” because Fayad continued to be held in custody.
After Fayad’s release last Thursday, Czech Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky (ANO) admitted that it was intertwined with the return of the five Czechs from Lebanon.
A condition for the release of the Czechs was that Fayad not be extradited to the U.S. investigators, Stropnicky said.
Pelikan (for ANO) did not confirm the information about the swap.
The U.S. ambassador to Prague called the Czech decision not to extradite Fayad to the USA shocking.
After leaving the custody prison in Prague, Fayad departed for Beirut, where he was detained, according to the Lebanese media.
