Poland upholds ruling not to extradite Yeltsin aid

An appeals court in Warsaw has upheld an earlier ruling that a former adviser to President Yeltsin, Sergey Stankevich, should not be extradited to Russia.

Mr Stankevich is wanted in Russia on charges of accepting a bribe for organising a concert in Moscow's Red Square in 1992, when he was deputy mayor of Moscow.

He was detained in Poland last April and subsequently released on bail.

Last November, a provincial court in Warsaw decided against the extradition, saying Polish law on taking bribes applied only to Polish officials, and not foreigners.

Polish officials say that if no appeal is made to the SupremeCourt within seven days, the ruling becomes legally binding.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service