WARSAW, Poland � A senior Chechen separatist wanted in Russia for alleged murder, kidnapping and terrorism was arrested Friday in Poland where he was to attend a conference organized by the World Chechen Congress, police said.
A representative of Chechen rebels denied Akhmed Zakayev had been arrested, saying he had turned himself in. Zakayev and his supporters have said the Russian allegations are trumped-up. He has said he represents the political faction of Chechnya's separatist movement, and has no connection to the military wing spearheading the region's insurgency.
"He has not been arrested but he went, at his own initiative, to the prosecutor's office to find out what they want from him," said Osman Ferzaouli, who is based in Denmark but was in Warsaw to attend the conference on trying to develop a concept to stop the Russian-Chechen conflict.
At Russia's request, international police agency Interpol had put out a "red notice" on Zakayev � the equivalent of putting him on its most-wanted list. It said the 51-year-old activist, who now lives in London, is wanted in Russia for "crimes against life and health, attempted crimes against life and health, kidnapping, organized crime, transnational crime and terrorism."
Chechnya, along with neighboring regions in Russia's North Caucasus, has been wracked with violence following two Chechen separatist wars over the last 15 years, and Islamic militants launch frequent attacks on the region's authorities.
Zakayev was apprehended "without any trouble" and turned over to prosecutors, Polish police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said. Prosecutors were now examining the Russian warrant and other documents before questioning Zakayev, prosecutors' spokeswoman Monika Lewandowska said.
An Interpol red notice is a not a warrant, but shares one country's warrant with other member countries.
Earlier this week Russian Ambassador to Poland Alexander Alekseev said Russia "has proof" that Zakayev had been involved in terrorism, and Moscow would expect Poland to arrest him if he came to the country.
Zakayev was given asylum in London by British authorities in 2003, who have refused to extradite him to Russia � causing strain on the two countries' relations.
Polish authorities in the past have been supportive of a small but active Chechen diaspora there, but say they would be obliged to arrest Zakayev if he came for the conference, give the Russian warrant against him. Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said Thursday, however, that the matter should be solved between Russia and Britain.
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Associated Press Writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Angela Charlton in Paris and Jan Olsen in Copenhagen contributed to this report.
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