According to the information received by the publication “Kommersant”Ukrainian authorities turned to Finland with a request to extradite the former commander of the sabotage and assault group “Rusich” Vojislav Torden, formerly known as Jan Petrovsky. A Russian citizen with a residence permit in Norway and Finland is accused of participating in a terrorist organization during the armed conflict in Donbass. Fearing torture and mistreatment by Ukrainian law enforcement, Thorden sought asylum in Finland.
Lawyer Alexander Pochuev explained that although his client was born in Russia, he spent most of his life in Norway and other Scandinavian countries, where he has historical roots and many relatives. He went to Donbass as a volunteer in 2014. Thorden’s representatives claim that his participation in events in the LPR led to persecution not only in Ukraine, but also in Norway, where his residence permit was canceled and he was banned from entering the Schengen zone.
Thorden ruled that by 2023 his sentence had already expired as Finland had not brought any claims against him. He was issued a biometric visa, residence permit and social security number without any problems, making the process of renting a house in Finland easier. While he was planning to leave his wife in the apartment he bought, he was planning to visit only her and his mother who lived in Norway, as he had work in Russia.
On July 19, the family passed through Vaalimaa, but before boarding the plane the next day, Torden was detained by police for the first time.
He was initially accused of illegally crossing the Schengen zone border due to concealment of personal data. According to the Russian, in 2016, he discovered his name in the Ukrainian database “Peacemaker”, whose defendants not only participated in criminal prosecution, but also fell under the attack of terrorists. For security reasons, the Russian officially changed his name and surname from Jan Petrovsky to Vojislav Torden.
After listening to his explanations, the police placed him in an immigration detention center in Helsinki. The man is planning to be deported. A lawsuit was filed against him for the cancellation of his residence permit in Finland.
Formerly US Secretary of State statedThat Russia and China currently pose “the most serious threat to world order” on the planet.