Inga Pelinjagri, a Russian citizen of Ukrainian origin who has political refugee status in Italy, has been in extradition detention for two weeks in the pre-trial detention centre in Spuz, near Podgorica.
Pelinyagri was arrested on 22 July at Podgorica airport on the basis of an Interpol warrant from Moscow, which is seeking her for fraud, according to the High Court’s replies to Radio Free Europe (RFE).
As they stated, she was detained due to the risk of escape.
Her lawyer, Dalibor Tomovic, has appealed against this decision.
On 5 August, the High Court dismissed the appeal.
The Italian Foreign Ministry confirmed to RFE that she had Italian travel documents, which she also had at the time of her detention.
Italy granted Peliniagr political refugee status because of his public opposition to the regime in Russia, Tomovic told RFE.
Tomovic’s lawyer was hired by Human Rights Action (HRA), which is representing Peliniagri in this case.
The HRA considers that Pelinjagra is protected by international instruments which prohibit Montenegro from deporting or forcibly returning her to a territory where her life or freedom would be threatened:
“The Italian authorities have determined that she would be subject to political persecution in Russia that would endanger her life.”
By ordering the detention, the State did not take into account Pelinigrad’s political asylum, the HRA said.
It also warned that a decision to extradite her to Russia would violate Montenegro’s international obligations and human rights.
The HRA expects the court to make a decision on extradition within 30 days.
What does the Montenegrin government say?
On 30 July, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic told journalists at the National Assembly that the country is obliged to arrest persons on Interpol’s red list.
“The (Montenegrin) courts are the last instance that gives the last word, but the Ministry of Justice is working intensively to see all the options on the table in relation to this case,” Spajic said.
The court, however, told RFE that Moscow is suing Peliniagri “for the crime of fraud committed by a group of persons on an extremely large scale by prior agreement”.
According to the Russian Ministry of the Interior, Peliniagri is on their wanted list in connection with a case involving a precautionary measure prohibiting him from leaving his place of residence.
The Justice Minister’s office told RFE that the extradition process in this case has only just begun.
“The Ministry of Justice will take a close look at this case and, in the light of all the circumstances of the case, will take a fair decision, respecting the principles of international human rights law,” the RFE’s reply said.
“In view of possible future decisions by the Ministry of Justice, it is premature to prejudge our further actions at this time.”
Marić: I don’t think she will be extradited to Moscow
Former State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice Boris Marić believes that Montenegro is not violating the rights of detainee Pelinigre, as she has the right to additional checks in the procedure.
“But this must be done in a reasonable time, very quickly. This is especially true for the High Court to react quickly and propose a solution,” Marić told RFE.
He points out that extradition detention can last up to half a year.
She believes that the authorities are already in communication with Italy, which has granted her political asylum.
Marić believes that, according to the information available, there are many reasons to suspect that this is an attempt at a covert political drive by Moscow against Pelinjagru.
“As for tomorrow’s imposition of a possible politically punitive act, which is inadmissible under international law and ratified conventions”.
And if that is the case, it must be acted accordingly, i.e. protected, Marić says.
He does not believe that Montenegro would extradite her to Russia.
What are the possible solutions?
Marić explains that there are two solutions: to return to Italy or, if Montenegro is interested, to grant her political asylum.
“The national authorities would have to determine in communication with Italy which option they would pursue, because that country would have to give the facts that led it to grant her political asylum.”
Podgorica believes that it can accept these arguments because Italy is a member of the European Union, with which it already has treaty obligations.
And lawyer Tomovic points to the Italian aspect of the case.
He says that the main argument of the defence is that Pelinjagrijeva is not a Russian citizen, but a person under the international protection of Italy.
Montenegro must respect this status, Tomović says, referring to the Refugee Convention and the Law on International and Temporary Protection of Foreigners.
“Montenegro has no right to keep her in detention. Neither domestic law nor an international agreement can extradite her to Russia.”
According to him, Pelinjagri was visited in prison by representatives of the Italian Embassy, UNHCR and the Office of the Ombudsman of Montenegro.
The Ombudsman’s Office told RFE that the extradition process is a matter for the courts, which have no mandate to respond.
They also stated that Pelinjagri had no objections to the conditions and treatment in detention.
Rome’s official position
The Italian embassy and the Italian foreign ministry are following the case closely, the ministry in Rome told RFE.
They confirmed that Pelinigra was in possession of Italian travel documents at the time of her arrest, that the Deputy Head of Mission visited her in detention on 25 July and that they are in close contact with her family.
“Due to the special status of the citizen, the Italian Embassy in Podgorica will continue to follow the case closely and provide the necessary consular assistance.”
Who is Inga Pelinjagri?
The SOTAvision Telegram group published a letter from Pelinjagri, stating that she had requested extradition from the Italian consul in Montenegro to Italy, where she had been living as a refugee until her arrest.
It also states that her husband and minor child are in Italy.
In her letter, she explained that she was being persecuted by the Russian authorities for her political activities, her involvement with undesirable organisations and her anti-war stance.
She pointed out that she had entered Montenegro on an Italian passport and recalled the “ban on extradition for deportation to Russia”.
It is not known when Pelinjagrijeva left Russia, nor how long she stayed in Italy before being granted political asylum by that country.
There is official information that she was a journalist in the early 2000s.
Together with Perolešina Marina Vitaljevna, she won the 2003 Moscow City Journalism Award for creating the historical-cultural programme “Moskvarium” about Moscow’s past and present.
In 2022, she was part of the “Witnesses” project of TV2, banned in Russia.
On her YouTube channel and Platform X account, she shared short videos showing the consequences of the Russian aggression on Ukraine, the destroyed cities and calls for peace.
All posts are from 2022.
On 31 July, an open letter to Julia Navalny, widow of Aleksei Navalny, was published on her Facebook account, which the RFE could not confirm the authenticity of, stating that she was speaking from detention in Montenegro.
In the letter, she asks for help from Aleksei Navalny’s imprisoned supporters.
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