[JURIST Europe] Russia's Prosecutor General [official website in Russian] has requested that the British government extradite business tycoon Boris Berezovsky [MosNews profile] on charges of plotting a coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website, English version]. In an interview with a Russian radio station in January, Berezovsky labeled Putin's regime as 'anti-constitutional' and having 'lost all legitimacy', advocating the forceful removal of Putin from office. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) [official website in Russian] is currently building a case against Berezovsky but has refused to say if the interview is part of the investigation [Moscow Times report]. The extradition request follows a warning by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw [BBC profile] to Berezovsky that further interviews like the previous one may result in a review of his asylum status in the UK.

Berezovsky acquired his fortune in the 1990s and served as Boris Yeltsin's national security adviser. Although he helped Putin come to power as Yeltsin's successor, he soon fell out of favor and moved to the UK in 2000. He was granted asylum in 2003. BBC News has more.

Angela Onikepe is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.