Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has demanded the extradition of ex-mixed martial arts pugilist Vyacheslav Datsik, who was arrested in Norway after escaping from a psychiatric ward in St. Petersburg.
The extradition warrant was sent to Norway on Monday, spokeswoman Marina Gridneva told RIA Novosti.
Datsik, 33, was arrested on September 21 when he appeared, armed, at an immigration office in Oslo seeking asylum. The Norwegian authorities denied his asylum request earlier in October and have begun preparing his extradition to Russia, AFP news agency said.
The martial arts fighter was involved in political activities as a member of the ultranationalist movement, Slavic Union, which was banned in Russia this year but has reportedly opened its office in Norway.
Datsik, who was repeatedly disqualified for being too violent with his opponents in the ring, retired from mixed martial arts after losing six straight fights between December 2001 and February 2003.
From 1996 to 2001, he faced numerous criminal charges for assault and battery, murder threats, arbitrary behavior and theft, but all the charges were dropped.
Datsik was arrested in 2007 after a series of robberies in cell phone stores. However, psychiatric examinations concluded that he was mentally ill and he was exempted from being held responsible for the criminal charges.
MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti)
