A Danish court ruled today that a senior Chechen official arrested earlier in theday at the request of Russian authorities should remain in custody for 13 days, a local news agency reported.
Mr Akhmed Zakayev had attended the World Chechen Congress in the Danish capital on October 28th-29th, an event which caused a diplomatic row between Russia and Denmark, the current EuropeanUnion president.
"The judge justified the detention by saying there was riskthat Zakayev would attempt to avoid prosecution if he was setfree," Danish news agency Ritzau said.
Danish police said they received information from theRussian authorities on Tuesday which showed Zakayev wassuspected of helping prepare the Moscow theatre siege last weekand of taking part in other "terrorist" acts from 1996-99.
"The Copenhagen police found this was sufficient foundationfor the arrest," the police said in a statement.
