Russian media baron held in Spain

Russian authorities raided Mr Gusinsky's office in June

A Spanish judge has ordered the detention of Russian media baron Vladimir Gusinsky, who is wanted in his home country for alleged embezzlement.

Court sources quoted by AFP say Mr Gusinsky opposed a Russian extradition order, arguing in a hearing in Spain's highest criminal court that he was the victim of political persecution.

The sources said presiding judge Baltasar Garzon decided Mr Gusinsky should be held in the Soto del Real prison near Madrid pending consideration of Moscow's request for an international arrest warrant for failing to appear for questioning in November.

The judge determined that the charges carried penalties of at least six years in jail in Spain and 10 years in Russia if proved, the sources said.

State prosecutor Enrique Molina said the detention was justified because there was a risk of Mr Gusinsky escaping before the extradition hearing.

The United States says the Russian Government's pursuit of Mr Gusinsky, who owns of Russia's largest independent national media group, Media-Most, poses a threat to the independence of the Russian media.

Charges resurrected

Under international conventions there is protection for suspects in political cases

Lawyer Pavel Astakhov

His newspapers, and television and radio stations have been some of the most critical of the current Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

A lawyer acting for Mr Gusinsky, Pavel Astakhov, said he was confident it could be demonstrated that the arrest warrant was politically motivated and he should not be sent back to Russia.

"Under international conventions there is protection for suspects in political cases," he said.

A Gusinsky spokesman, Dmitri Ostalski, said the arrest had occurred because Russian officials had misled their Spanish counterparts.

"The Russian prosecutor general has, through the Russian bureau of Interpol, disinformed the law enforcement agencies of Spain, sending them material in the so-called Gusinsky case that is completely false," he said.

Interpol query

Reports say the courts have 40 days to approve or reject Russia's extradition request, but that the Spanish Government would have the final say in the matter.

It is reported that the arrest came a day after the international police organization Interpol asked Moscow to justify the warrant issued on 4 December, amid suspicions that the charges may be politically motivated.

In Moscow last June, Mr Gusinsky was arrested and held for three days in connection with alleged fraud in a business deal, when he bought up a state-owned television channel in St Petersburg in 1997.

After he was released, those charges were dropped. They were subsequently resurrected.

Vendetta denial

President Putin has sought to dispel fears that a political vendetta is being waged against Mr Gusinsky, saying he is in favour of a free press.

The Russian prosecutor's office say it only wants to uphold the law.

Gusinsky aides say that since leaving Russia after his brief detention, he has spent time in Britain, Gibraltar, Israel and Spain, where his family lives.